(Re)Setting the Stage
by The Tailed Titan 72
Summary: Naruto must struggle to protect those he holds dearest to him in the face of an enemy that comes straight from the darkest pages of myths and legends. This is Book 1 in the series.
1. How it all Began

This is my first story. Please Please bear with me for the first few chapters. My writing style is fairly rushed here at first but things will "smooth out" and make more sense as the story goes. For anyone who has already read this, these notes are the only new thing in this chapter. Otherwise, enjoy the story!

* * *

"Wow..."

"So much has changed since we were last here."

Two figures stood staring out over their home, nostalgia flowing through them unchecked.

"So what do you think Sakura, should we finally head home?"

The pinkette`s answer was simple: "Yes Naruto, I think we should."

Smiling, the duo slowly made their way to the front gate of Konoha. On the way, Naruto couldn`t help thinking back to what seemed like eons ago.

* * *

"Hey Sakura can you believe were actually on the same team!"

Sakura sat there staring at her teammates in disbelief.

"Why me?" Was all she could say as she sat looking at the new 4-man squad dubbed Team 8. The team consisted of Naruto Uzumaki, Kiba Inuzuka, Nabitora Izumara, and finally herself, Sakura Haruno. The other 2 squads, Team 7 & Team 10, were nowhere in sight. Team 7 consisted of Saskue Uchiha, Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame, and Rykuga Azu. Team 10`s members were Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Shikuke Yita.

"Damn it, why am i stuck with NARUTO!" The pinkette was absolutely seething with rage and nearly tore Kiba in half when he started snickering. Akamaru was smart enough to leap away as Sakura smashed Kiba over the head with a hammer fist that even a veteran shinobi would stay clear of.

"Um Sakura, i think you killed him" Nabitora commented as him and Naruto stared at a twitching Kiba.

She was prevented from turning her unholy rage towards Nabitora by someone clearing their throat behind them.

"Is this a bad time?"

All heads instantly turned to the source of the voice to see their sensei standing in the doorway.

"No? Good then lets get started. My name is Kurenai Yuhi, your new sensei."

* * *

Several months later...

"Hey Nabitora!" Nabitora quickly faced the direction of the noise and smiled at his comrades as they were walking towards him.

"Hey guys I was just heading out to find you." Over the past few months they had all started to build a strong friendship with each other and even Sakura and Naruto became close friends. The blonde was currently in the middle of another attempt to get Sakura to go out with him. These attempts used to put him in the hospital but recently the response has started to grow more friendly.

"Now why on earth would I do that" she asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Because you want to date the future Hokage" Naruto answered matter-of-factly with that signature grin of his.

Nabitora could tell it was going to be a strange day when he heard this:

"Alright Naruto but only if you pay" His shocked expression quickly turned into a goofy grin until she added "And only if Kiba and Nabitora come also."

They all laughed when he started complaining, saying that it wasn't a date if they came along.

They were all laughing when Nabitora asked if they had seen Kurenai-sensei around.

"I thought someone already told you that she is on a mission." Kiba commented in a somewhat confused tone.

"Hmm i guess were on our own for now." Nabitora thought to himself.

* * *

In the Land of Rice Patties...

Kurenai, Asuma, Izuma, and Kotetsu were shocked at the sight before them as a green-black fire reflected in their eyes.

"Who...How...Why..."

They suddenly scattered as a lone figure emerged from the firey depths of the former village.

"Who are you!" Kurenai called out.

The figure suddenly appeared in front of them. Thats when it hit all of them: this persons chakra levels were...

"Thats impossible!" She muttered. But yet as she said that the figure just started to laugh.

"So you realize it then?" The voice was unbelievably...dark? Chilling...Evil.

"Everyone stay on your toes. He's unbelievably powerful!" Kurenai yelled out. She barely had time to draw her kunai before he struck.

The blow sent out a shockwave of pure energy from the point of contact. The Sage was enjoying the feeble genjutsu he was in as he blocked the pathetic excuses called attacks.

"Burning Ash!"

As soon as it surrounded the robed figure Asuma ignited the ash.

They all paled when they heard him laugh again.

"Now it's my turn you pathetic whelps."

The temperature dropped significantly as she realized she was in a genjutsu. Her future played in front of her like a movie. When she had a family the movie stopped and the nightmare began.

Asuma watched as Kurenai dropped to her knees, shuddering and crying uncontrollably. He started to rush to her side when he seen a flash of black to his right. He never seen the Tailed Beast Bomb coming.

Izuma and Kotetsu stared in horror as Asuma flew into a tree and crumpled into a unmoving heap. Kotetsu turned to find Izuma several feet higher and significantly more shocked than he remembered until he followed his friend's line of sight down to the hand holding a sword of solid chakra. The blade held Izuma up for another second before the man viciously ripped the blade to the right, nearly cutting Izuma in half. Kotetsu couldn't move. Not even when his friends blood suddenly coated his face and chest.

"Pathetic"

The Sage stared at the man paralyzed in fear as he tossed his friend's body to the ground.

"I'll be with you in a minute," he coldly chuckled, "don't you run off."

He then turned his attention to the victim of his genjutsu, still immobilized by the raw emotoins she felt. He slowly approached her trembling form. He suddenly grabbed her with a hand made of white chakra, which immediately sunk into her chested and grabbed her heart. The Sage proceeded to lift her off the ground.

Kotetsu looked on in pure terror as the white hand started to turn a tint of red. Only when the hand was removed did he feel an indescribable feeling of rage.

The Sage was about to turn around when he felt several explosive kunai pierce his back and detonate. He materialized behind the last ninja and simply plunged his hand into his back and tore his spine out of his body.

"Her eyes..." Kotetsu couldn't help but notice as he fell towards darkness that Kurenai's eyes were now white, "I swear her eyes were red."


	2. Team 8 on the Move

"Hey Sakura remember our first B-rank mission?"

Sakura glanced briefly at her companion, "Yeah, about it?"

Naruto suddenly stopped to look at her.

"No you don't. I know you don't."

The pinkette sighed, "Ok fine i don't. It can't be THAT important though, can it?"

"Sit down Sakura and prepare for one hell of a story!" The blond was wearing a wide grin as he patted the ground next to him.

* * *

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Damn! Nabitora quickly started to assess the situation he was in. One...two...three...four...60 total. "Just when I thought i had you."

Naruto was staring at his friend, a small grin starting to form. "I told you: Never, EVER underestimate the future Hokage!"

"Who said you ev..." Nabitora never got to finish his thought as every clone started to leap forward. Nabitora frantically fought using taijutsu but was quickly overpowered.

"Na...ru...to", 3 clones appeared above him. His only thoughts: "Oh...Shit..."

"Uzumaki Barrage!"

* * *

_Several intense hours later..._

"Did you really have to use the Uzumaki Barrage though?" Nabitora was sore and aching everywhere.

"Ok so maybe I got slightly carried away." Nabitora watched the grinning blonde rub the back of his neck nervously, "hehe sorry."

As Nabitora was about to respond he turned just in time to see Naruto disappear in a flash of grey. "Haha what's up Kiba?"

"The Hokage wants to see us."

* * *

"Is everyone here? Good." the Third Hokage examined the 4 youths in front of him.

"As you know your sensei, Kurenai, has been sent out on a mission to gather information on the disturbances happpening in the Land of Rice Patties so for now you will be accompanied by Team 7 to meet the 1 Jounin requirement for this mission."

"WHAT WHY THEM!" Naruto couldn't help himself, he just couldn't stand that smug Uchiha bastard. Sakura, on the other hand had no such qualms.

"You mean I get to team up with Sasuke?!" Suddenly everyone went temporarily deaf as they heard one enraged, and quite jealous, Yamanaka appproaching.

"Kakashi will fill you in on the rest. Now i would run if you wish to keep your lives." the Third chuckled to himself as they all scattered with a look of terror on their faces.

* * *

"Damn it! Of all people why YOU!" Kakashi was enraged as he took in the seen before him. Naruto was pinned to a tree with a spear made out of wood through both of his shoulders, unconscious from the pain, while Hinata, Sakura, and Sasuke were fighting several Shadow Clones of Rykuga and a possessed Shino. Kiba was bleeding profusely from a neck wound, Akamaru was next to him with 2 broken legs, and Nabitora was slowly moving toward Naruto, using his right arm to pull himself along. Kakashi noticed Nabitora's legs were dragging behind him while his left arm had been removed at the shoulder. Only when he activated his Sharingan was he able to notice that his wound resembled a piece of torn paper.

Kakashi knew, then and there, that Rykuga was a monster: he used his hands to rip Nabitora's arm right off.

His attention was forced back to the battle by the scream of pain from Hinata.

* * *

Rykuga couldn't believe his how fun this was! He glanced over at Kiba and remembered, with a feeling of joy, viciously slashing his windpipe open.

"That," he remembered saying "is because you are to loud and annoying.

He now grinned at the sight before him: his kunai with one of Hinata's eyes at the end of it.

"Well it's been a blast everyone but I'm not supposed to kill anymore than one of you," he seen Kakashi start to close in on him "so I'll be off with my eye now. See ya later!" With that, Rykuga flashed a series of hand signs that caused several thumps of people hitting the ground.

"Well it seems Sakura will have problems remembering this in the future. Oh well I can always do it again." He left the pinkette there, bleeding out of the deep cut in her head.

* * *

"Where am I?" Sakura thought. When she tried to recall the last few weeks, a heavy fog descended on her mind. When she finally opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the walls.

"I'm in a cave?" She hadn't realized that she said it out loud so it surprised her when a pair of hands softly gripped her shoulders and moved her back to her previous position. Startled, she quickly turned to face the unknown person when one of his hands clamped down firmly on her mouth while the other motioned for her to stay silent.

When he finally let go, she followed his gaze out of the small crevice in the ground. She gasped as she saw several dozen Sound shinobi marching inches in front of their hiding place.

When they had all passed, Sakura turned her emerald eyes towards the bottomless blue ones that returned her gaze.

"Naruto?"

"Thank god you're ok!" he exclaimed. She noticed his blue eyes started to water up a little bit.

"What do you mean Naruto? Where's Kakashi-sensei, Hinata, Shino, and Sasuke?" She asked.

"Kakashi was forced to take everyone back. Unfortunately, we've been cut off from escaping because of those damn Sound shinobi!" The pinkette could see that Naruto was getting frustrated at the situation they were in.

"I almost forgot, is Rykuga ok?"

Naruto snapped.

"Don't EVER mention that sick bastard's name again!" He was clearly enraged about that last one.

"What's wrong Naruto? What is it?" she questioned while softly placing her hand on his shoulder. She could almost see the damn break. He just started to cry and turned away, nodding his head in the other direction. She nearly vomited at the sight before her. There Nabitora lay unconscious on the floor, missing his left arm and both his legs had clearly been broken and hastily reset.

"Wh...What happened Naruto?!"

"Rykuga Azu did this. He also removed Hinata's left eye, Sasuke's right Sharingan, put Shino into a coma, and he..." Naruto started to cry harder.

"It's ok Naruto. Just calm down and -"

"How can I calm down?! I was terrified that I was going to lose you!"

All of her thoughts came to a screeching halt.

* * *

AN: Hello everybody! Last time I forgot to do these note things so i figured hey why not. It may be painfully obvious but for those of you that don't know im new at writing fanfic (actually just writing in general) so please leave a review with any tips, ideas, and how you feel I'm doing. Also i would like to thank you all for your support (I hope) and I hope you continue to follow this book (which will be the first of several). Yes this chapter was more emotionally based than the first one but you'll see why eventually (that is if i write it correctly). One more thing: sorry if the chapters are a little on the short side, I'm trying to work on that. Also for anyone who is currently freaking out saying this story is garbage because it's only very, very loosely cannon based then i suggest leaving now because your precious cannon is about to become so twisted (not in the Rykuga kind of way) that you will hardly recognize it :) Also before i leave, i should mention that I currently own 0% of the rights to Naruto.


	3. Team 10 to the Rescue

"Wha...What?" Sakura didn't know why she was stunned he always asked her out on dates, he was always there when she needed a shoulder to lean on, and he was always there to help her if she was in trouble. So why was she surprised to hear him say it again.

"I don't want to lose you, Sakura. I've already lost my mom and dad but I can't lose you too." Naruto kept trying to hold back the tears but he couldn't help it.

Sakura didn't know why she was so confused. She loved Sasuke...right? She stared dumbfounded at the blond in front of her.

_"He did just save me, and he's always nice to me, he doesn't complain if I hit him, and he's become one of my closest friends but on the other hand Sasuke has...Sasuke is..."_

"Sakura is everything ok?" Naruto's face had concern etched all over it.

"Yeah I just need to be alone right now." She started to stand up so she could leave when everything began to spin.

"Sakura! Sakura!" She seen Naruto jump towards her and felt his hands grab her before the sweet darkness engulfed her completely.

* * *

_Back at the Hidden Leaf Village..._

"Kakashi, why would you just leave those three there!" Kiba was furious. Here he was all nice and safe while three of his teammates had volunteered to stay behind so the rest could make it home. Now he was sharing a room with the rest of Team 7, Kakashi included, because shinobi continued to return home from their missions, injured, making the hospital quite crowded. The only thing they could say of their attackers was this: music.

"Music. Thats it. Just music?" For the first time in a long time, the Third Hokage was furious.

"Lord Third, what are your orders?"

"Bring me Team 10."

* * *

Shikuke Yita was deep in meditation when the sound of Ino babbling on and on about Sasuke Uchiha broke through his state of deep calm.

"To what do I owe this annoying interruption?" Shikuke was irritated at Ino for interrupting him.

"hmm" Ino turned away in contempt leaving Shikamaru and Choji to explain the situation.

"Huh wait Ino... ah man what a drag..." Shikamaru started to get an ear-full from Ino about how the "stuck up prick over there" had offended her so Choji took the initiative.

"Lord Hokage needs use to report in immediately. We're to be the rescue team for Naruto, Sakura, and Nabitora."

"Hmm were really going to rescue that annoying brat Naruto. Why do we even need him here?" Shikuke thought this was a ridiculous reason for the interruption. Just as he was about to start meditating again he felt Ino pinch him by the ear.

"Were going, NOW!"

* * *

_"Deja_ _vu" _Thought the Third Hokage.

"Is everyone here? Good. Your mission is to re-locate and rescue Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Nabitora Izumara. We believe that they are located near the area that Rykuga Azu betrayed Team 7 and Team 8, causing the injuries you seen. Are their any questions?"

"Should we expect to fight Rykuga during this mission?" Shikuke wanted to be sure there would be no unknowns.

"It is a strong possibility but we are not sure. If there are no more questions then I suggest you go get ready."

With that, Team 10 headed back to their houses to prepare for the mission.

* * *

"Sakura...Sakura wake up...WAKE UP!" Sakura's eyes shot open just in time to see Naruto disappear in an explosion.

"NARUTO!"

She was pulled away just as an explosive tag went off, effectively sealing the small entrance to the cave.

"Sakura I'm fine see" the hands turned her around to see Naruto and Nabitora staring at her, "see I'm fine."

"You idiot *smack* I was so worried about you!" The smack to the head was immediately followed by a hug. The hug was then followed by a very red-faced, grinning Naruto trying to stutter out something that resembled words.

"Are you two done having your moment because we got ALOT of angry Sound ninja outside and they really want to meet us."

Sakura was about to yell at Nabitora when she realized that he was standing, with BOTH ARMS!

"How did you...I mean you...but...How?" Sakura was now the one stuttering at the sight before her.

"What this?" he glanced at his new arm, "Thanks to my Light style I was able to condense sunlight into a new arm, although this isn't an actual arm." To show what he meant, he rolled up his sleeve to reveal a yellow arm with veins and chakra lines embedded inside of it.

"But how do..." Suddenly they all dropped to their knees holding their heads when the rocks blew out of the opening revealing several dozen angry Sound ninja.

* * *

Nabitora awoke to a bright light and several sounds all around him.

"Stop screwing around!"

"Yeah just finish him off!"

"Hurry up and kill the brat!"

Nabitora turned to face what sounded like a fight to see Naruto's face slam into the tree behind him. Naruto struggled to stand up and his effort was rewarded with a kunai buried deep into his side and back.

"Don't worry, we'll kill your friends nice and slowly." Naruto then sunk into the waiting darkness.

"Light style: Hard Light Jutsu!"

The light surrounding about a dozen ninja suddenly turn into a solid object that hardened to take the shape of the people trapped inside, one of which was the man who was just fighting Naruto.

"Now it's my turn. Light style: Light Assimilation Jutsu!" the hardlight surrounding the people disappeared, along with the men trapped inside.

"You brat!"

"Where did they go!"

"They're now part of the light your in." Nabitora waved his hands in both directions. He was about to use his newest technique when he found that he couldn't move. On top of that he found a new kunai sticking out of his stomach and he knew that wasn't there before.

* * *

"Boy why can't you ever think of yourself?!" Naruto was standing before a massive cage staring at two red eyes.

"ANSWER ME!" Suddenly a massive fox with nine tails came into view.

"Because, you stupid fox, I actually have friends that I care about. But I doubt you would understand anything like that!" Naruto glared at the Nine Tailed Demon Fox without an ounce of fear in him. He also realized, too late, that the fox was now picking him up.

"Your mine now!" the fox roared in delight at how easy it was to fool him.

"No, you won't hurt me because your trapped inside of me." Naruto was impressing himself at his ability to control his fear.

Now mere inches away from the foxes mouth Naruto heard this simple question: "Do you fear me, Boy?"

His response was simple but the message was clear: no.

* * *

Team 10 arrived to a battlefield containing an injured Naruto, an injured Nabitora, and an unconscious Sakura surrounded by around 4 dozen Sound ninja.

"Shit this is bad!"

About 40+ kunai greeted their arrival.

"Well, there goes our element of surprise."

Team 10 now found themselves surrounded by 4 dozen bloodthirsty Sound ninja.

_"This just went from bad to worse!"_

* * *

AN: Well here is another chapter of (Re)Setting the Stage I hope you enjoy. I hope to upload another one tomorrow if possible. Like always please leave a review of what you think and also tell me any suggestions you have for the story. Also please, if you enjoy this story please spread the word so it can grow bigger.


	4. Team 10's Fight, Sakura's Courage

Team 10 was hopelessly outnumbered and they knew it. Problem was, their mission objective was currently unconscious on the ground beneath them and the only way to reach them was through these damn Sound ninja.

"Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, you need to do the Ino-Shika-Cho formation until I retrieve Naruto, Nabitora, and Sakura. Do you think you can keep them occupied until then?" Shikuke was the only one in the Hidden Leaf Village that had a chance to beat Shikamaru and his dad in shogi and he was about to pull out all of the stops in order to keep his teammates alive.

"Ready?"

"Hai!"

Instantly, mass chaos erupted as one Sound ninja after the other was dropped by the three young shinobi while the fourth was cutting his way through the enemy ninja like a knife through butter.

_"You idiots better not be dead because if this was a waste of time."_ Shikuke balled his hand into a fist and fought forward to his objective.

* * *

_"I don't want to lose you"_

_"Sakura!"_

Naruto's voice kept ringing through the pinkette's head.

"Naruto, I swear to god if you don't let me sleep" she raised her head to finish her threat when her voice caught in her throat. Directly ahead of her, Naruto and Nabitora were in a crumpled mass on the floor, blood running freely out of multiple wounds.

"No, no, no!" Sakura quickly dropped down by her teammates and immediately started to apply first aid to them. she couldn't figure out why it was so hard to tie the bandages until she noticed how bad her hands were shaking.

_"Damn it Sakura, just calm down!"_ She was furious at herself. Here she was passed out while her teammates risked their lives to protect her and now she couldn't even stop shaking enough to tie their bandages!

Suddenly a hand grabbed onto her own causing her to jump a little.

"Sakura you need to rest. Let me take it from here." She looked up to see Shikuke covered in blood and some fresh cuts.

"Shikuke your..."

"This mostly isn't my blood." She looked behind him to finally see the trail of bodies along with the fight raging in the distance.

"My team is handling the enemy shinobi until I get you guys out of..." An explosion cut him off as they seen three figure hurtling towards them.

"No..."

Sakura followed Shikuke's gaze to see Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji hit the ground in front of them. She barely had enough time to register that Shikuke and moved when she heard the enemy begin to cry out again. she took this time to patch up all the wounded and silently prayed that Shikuke was ok.

* * *

_"What am I doing?!"_ Shikuke had only reacted when his teammates were injured. Now he was in the middle of 2 dozen enraged Sound ninja and was all alone to face them.

"I'm gonna kill you kid. Just like your friends!" Shikuke turned and instantly started on the attack. Needless to say the shinobi that had uttered that comment was the first to fall.

For several minutes Shikuke was a blur between enemies injuring or killing one after the other when he was violently yanked backwards by his shirt.

"Ok kid, you had your turn now it's mine." The behemoth brought down his fist onto Shikuke's stomach. He continued to rain down blows eventually causing Shikuke to spit up blood.

"Whats wrong? Finished already?" The brute was laughing manically as he kept on raining down the punishing blows. He was preparing to crush the kid's skull when a sharp pain in the back of his neck caused him to turn around which brought him face to face with the pink haired ninja from earlier.

"Now, now pinkie, you just wait your turn I'll be with you sh..." His sentence was cut off when the tag attached to the kunai in his neck exploded.

* * *

Sakura covered her head as pieces of the former ninja rained down on the area. She then turned towards to confront the remaining enemy shinobi in front of her.

_"So"_ she thought to herself_ "Shikuke managed to bring down 6 more."_

she glanced over at her fallen comrade. He was broken, battered, and barely holding onto life from the barrage of fists that he had just endured.

"Rest now Shikuke, I'll take it from here."

She readied her kunai as the Sound ninja started to attack from all sides. Sakura quickly grabbed Shikuke and retreated back to the rest of her comrades. As soon as she set him down, the Sound ninja began their brutal attack on her.

_"Don't worry everyone. I'll protect you!"_ Sakura readied herself for the long fight ahead of her.

* * *

"Naruto. Are you going to let the one you love die to keep you safe?" The Kyubi glared down at the child in front of him.

"Of course not but..."

"But what? Oh yes that's right your too weak to protect her on your own!" The Kyubi roared at the child, sensing his weakness.

"That's not it at all you dumb fox! I just need help getting out of here." Naruto started chuckling as he nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"Dumb child..." The Kyubi turned around and laid down to rest.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to see Sakura on one knee, sporting dozens of gashes. As he struggled to get up he noticed the three dead shinobi in front of her. Just then the enemy came in for another attack that caused Naruto to step in front of Sakura, arms outstretched.

"Good job Sakura" Naruto growled as his sapphire blue eyes turned ruby red, "I'll take it from here."

* * *

AN: Here's another chapter of (Re)Setting the Stage I hope you enjoy. Like always, please leave a review and also tell me any suggestions for the story and please, feel free to PM me. Thak you all for the continued support.


	5. Naruto's Secret

Sakura stared at Naruto as he stood, protectively, over his comrades. A feeling of death washed over Sakura, causing her to recoil in fear.

_"What is this awful feeling?"_ Sakura looked all around her for the source. Gradually, her eyes came to rest on Naruto's form and a sudden realization formed.

"Naruto...Naruto are you..."

"Sakura just stay back and you'll be fine. These guys, however, won't be as lucky." Sakura could've sworn his eyes were now red. Suddenly, a shower of kunai rained down on Naruto. Sakura was dumbfounded to see Naruto standing there, not a scratch on him.

_"Not even Sasuke could do that... Who IS this Naruto Uzumaki?"_ Sakura was fairly impressed...until she seen what he was capable of.

* * *

Naruto was pissed. He was angry at them for hurting Sakura. He was angry at himself because he failed to protect her. But most of all, he was angry because it felt so GOOD to be angry! He didn't feel like talking either so instead he let his actions do the talking and let me tell you, he was giving them quite the lecture. Before the lead ninja even knew what hit him, his left arm was sailing away from him in a fountain of blood. His back was drenched with the warm fluid as it sprayed out of the throat of the man behind him.

_"Such speed"_ Naruto thought to himself as he advanced on the tenth enemy, _"with this speed, nothing could touch me. And this power is unbelievable!" _He was going to thoroughly enjoy this. The eleventh shinobi fell to his claws as his heart was impaled. Naruto's arm was covered in the blood of his enemies but he clearly remembered that there was sixteen ninja.

"One must've gotten away. Oh well that means more fun is on the way!"

"Naruto please...please just stop!" He heard the fimiliar voice. He was about to yell at the person when he felt himself in someone's embrace. Everything came rushing back to him, causing him to drop to one knee.

"Sakura?" He turned back to see she was crying.

"Hey Sakura it's fine." He went to hug her back but he seen something that stopped him dead in his tracks.

"My...my arm...what happened to my arm!" Sakura just pointed behind him, causing him to avert his gaze from the pinkette in front of him to the gruesome seen behind him. All he could do was stare.

* * *

Sakura has seen genjutsu that would make adults cry for days but this was by far the most brutally terrifying thing she had ever witnessed. She watched as Naruto went from professing his love for her to tearing the limbs off of people in seconds. She didn't know why she had thrown herself on him but she felt it was the right thing to do.

"Sakura, I'm ok now. You know you could've been killed right?" Sakura looked up to see the sapphire eyes staring back. At that moment she knew one thing for sure: Naruto would never hurt her by his own decision.

"Naruto...what just happened to you?" She knew that she might not like the answer but she needed to know. She was shocked to find herself being picked up and carried to the others.

"Later, Sakura, for now we need to help patch up the others. After that we need to hide again." Naruto looked over Sakura's form in his arms and felt his heart jump up to his throat.

"Why not head home?" Sakura knew he was right but needed to know his reasoning.

"Because" Naruto stated, "one got away and is probably getting reinforcements right now."

"Yeah, you're right. Plus none of us are in any condition to travel long distances yet."

* * *

Nabitora woke up in complete darkness. He was sore, cut up, and nearly looked like a mummy with all of these bandages on. As he got up to look around, he saw a light around a corner. As he got closer, he could clearly make out two voices, one was Sakura and the other was Naruto. He strained to hear what they were saying:

"What happened back there?"

"I guess it's impossible to act like nothing happened so I guess it's time to tell the truth." Nabitora heard the blonde sigh. "Do you remember 13 years ago how the village was attacked by the Kyubi?" Sakura nodded her head, remembering the stories from that fateful night.

"Then you also remember how the Kyubi was defeated, right?"

"I think so. Didn't the Fourth Hokage seal the Nine Tails inside a child?"

Slowly the pieces started falling into place in Nabitora's head.

"Yes well that child...that child...was...me."

Silence. Absolute stunned silence. Nabitora boldly turned the corner, to both Sakura and Naruto's surprise, "YOU'RE LYING!"

Naruto just put his head down. Thats when Nabitora hit him. Naruto looked up at him and they both gasped.

"Now do you think I'm lying? WELL DO YOU!" Naruto had Nabitora suspended of the ground by his throat, his red eyes drilling holes into Nabitora's gold eyes.

"Naruto stop!" Again Sakura was there trying to snap Naruto out of it. Nabitora watched in shocked silence as those demonic red eyes were replaced by the blue eyes they all knew and loved.

"Naruto I'm so sorry. I had no idea." Nabitora was cut of by Naruto starting to cry.

"No you don't. No one does. You will never know what it's like to have your own village look at you like you're a monster. You'll never know what it's like to grow up completely alone. No body ever wanted to be friends with 'that kid'. It was like everybody was waiting for me to lose control. But then Iruka came along and so did Old Man Hokage and then it was like I had a brother and father. Now Kurenai is like a mother and you guys are the only friends I've ever had. So telling this to you guys is a huge leap of faith. Please...please don't abandon me too." Sakura and Nabitora looked to each other and back at Naruto, not quite knowing what to do.

Naruto knew he looked like a wreck but he didn't care. "I guess I have my answer." Naruto started to turn away until he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

"Naruto...I am your friend and i always will be." Naruto looked at Nabitora and smiled. Then for the second time that day, he found himself in Sakura's embrace.

"I agree with Nabitora, Naruto. Your my friend too."

Naruto just kept crying, with a smile on his tear stained face.

* * *

AN: here is another chapter of (Re)Setting the Stage. I want to thank everyone for their continued support and you know the rest.


	6. The Struggle Home

Message from the Author: I wanted to put out a quick celebratory message and say thank you. The last chapters release coupled with all of your continued support has brought me over 1,000 views. So please everyone, I'll keep up the good work only if you do too

* * *

"So, Nabitora, does this mean we failed the mission?"

"Well think of it like this: Did we accomplish the goal we were sent to do?"

"Huh?"

"No, Naruto, we didn't accomplish the objective which means we failed."

_"Great now he looks pissed."_ Sakura rolled her eyes. She tried to adjust some of Nabitora's weight towards Naruto.

"Nabitora, why do you always have to over-do things? You're just as bad as Naruto!" Sakura watched as the two boys just grinned at each other. Naruto's hand came up ashe rubbed the back of his head in that all to familiar way. Nabitora just chuckled and was about to say something until a familiar voice caused him to stiffen up.

"What Sakura? Don't want to put in a little effort?" Sakura's eyes lit up at that.

"Why you no good son of a-" she was shocked to see Kakashi, Kiba, and several other ninja in front of her, "Kakashi-sensei, aren't you suppose to bed in the village? And Kiba, I would hit you if I knew your condition."

"Well in that case I'm not telling you-"

"He's fine. Fully recovered." Kakashi's one eye LOOKED like he was smiling as Sakura commenced bashing Kiba's face in. Akamaru, the traitor he is, helped Sakura by nibbling on Kiba's hand.

"Don't kill the poor kid. Its been how long since we last seen Kiba and you're already trying to put him back in the hospital?" Nabitora was concerned about Kiba's well-being but was glad to see Sakura back to her normal self. That is, until she turned her emerald daggers in his direction.

* * *

The Sage watched on at the mildly amussing scene in front of him: the pink-haired ninja was beating the owner of the ninja hound into a crater while the others watched.

"Ah the folly of youth." The Sage chuckled to himself. He tried to remember a time when he had comrades to laugh with, only to see a pair of all to familiar eyes staring at him.

_"Those eyes...Those eyes, always mocking me. Always saying 'Look, I did what you could not'. Those eyes..."_ The Sage started to feel his rage building up again.

_"Well I guess the Kyubi's Jinchuuriki is going to be tested sooner than expected."_ The Sage could feel the familiar twitch in his forehead

_"Not yet" _The Sage thought, _"Not just yet."_

Just then, the one-eyed ninja looked in his direction and started to warn the others.

_"Well, it's time to begin." _He cast his favorite genjutsu on the one-eyed ninja before he could finish warning them. The other six leaf ninja quickly tried to protect the kids.

"This is going to be fun!"

* * *

"Kakashi!" They could only watch him hit the ground. One minute he was trying to warn them and the next he was face-down on the ground, convulsing in sheer pain. Everyone watched in horror as the lead shinobi was jerked into the air by a sword made of, what looked like, chakra. The second and third ninja were quickly consumed by a black and green flame. The last three ninja were quickly dealt with, leaving Naruto, Sakura, Nabitora, and Kiba to watch their severed heads hit the ground.

"This is going to be fun!"

_"Are you kidding?! This is absolutely terrifying!" _Naruto was awed at the ruthless efficiency displayed by their enemy. All he could do was stare as the cloaked figure approached him. He wanted to do SOMETHING but fear paralyzed him and he could only wait to be... judged?

"Nevermind" the figure said, turning away, "Your still much too young to make this fun. You have 10 years, Naruto. I hope for your sake that your ready by then." With that the figure disappeared. The fear also left with him.

"Naruto! Naruto are you ok?" The emerald eyes staring at him were full of actual concern.

"Yeah Sakura...At least I THINK so." Naruto did a quick check of himself. _"Yup no wounds."_ Thats more than he could say for the six mutilated corpses around him.

"I'll grab Kakashi...Lets just...Lets just hurry home." Kiba sounded worn and tired from the experience and honestly...He was absolutely terrfied at what might happen if the man came back.

"Yeah...Lets go home..."

* * *

The Third Hokage sat in a shocked silence as he looked at Asuma Sarutobi.

"Asuma...You must report to the hospital immediately. we can talk there."

"No...We need to talk now." ."Asuma felt the blood running from his mouth but kept talking: "They're dead...Lord Hokage...They're all dead."

"You're talking about Izuma, Kotetsu, and...and Kurenai right?" The Third felt he already knewthe answer. He was wrong.

"Not only them...The entire village...Was wiped out...By...By one man..." Asuma was out of energy. He passed out from pure exhaustion. He couldn't stop his mind from dreaming about Kurenai.

_"Good night...my sweet Kurenai."_ The Third Hokage never noticed the tear fall from Asuma's eye.

* * *

AN: Yes it's another chapter of (Re)Setting the Stage. I uploaded this one because the idea was driving me nuts so it is slightly shorter than the others. Like always, please leave a review with any tips or suggestions. Also i have a request for everyone: Please send me a review or pm of your favorite pairings for this story and also tell me if Sasuke should stay in the village or not. Thank you all for your continued support.


	7. A Painful Past and an Uncertain Future

"Today we are here to mourn the loss of three outstanding shinobi." As the Third Hokage looked out over the crowd he noticed Naruto, Sakura, Kiba, Nabitora, Kakashi, Hinata, Shino, and Sasuke near the front. In the back, he seen a very beat-up Asuma flanked on either side by hospital personal.

"The names of the three shinobi are: Kurenai Yuhi, Kotetsu Hagane, and Izuma Kamizuki. We were all blessed to have the pleasure to know them as friends, comrades, even as family." Throughout the crowd tears were being shed and sobs could be heard. The sorrow was almost tangible and it threatened to over take Hiruzen as he gave his speech, though he was fortunate that a member of the crowd wanted to say something.

* * *

Naruto was overcome by such an extreme sorrow. He could hear Sakura beside him crying. Nabitora was unable to attend the funeral due to his injuries reopening but he gave his condolences to Asuma as he was limping to the service. Naruto, for the first time ever, had nothing to say. He was consumed by grief and rage. He glanced towards Kiba only to see his friend looking at him, concern written on his face. When the two met eyes Kiba nodded towards an inconsolable Sakura. Naruto gently wrapped his arm around her and was somewhat surprised when she hugged him, a fresh torrent of tears leaving her eyes.

It was then that Naruto promised to avenge the three friends in front of him. They will not be forgotten. It took Kiba and Naruto another hour to get Sakura to finally head home.

* * *

_Several months later..._

Sakura flopped down next to Kiba, Nabitora, and Naruto. They were all exhausted from their 4-way sparring match which, much to everyone's surprise, Sakura won.

"Damn Naruto, what is that legendary pervert teaching you! You're so much stronger than a week ago!" Kiba was shocked at the incredible rate of progress Naruto was making.

"There's an awesome technique that I'm waiting to use for the Chunin Exams next week. It's gonna blow your mind!" The blond was seriously excited, as he started giggling so hard that he fell onto his back.

"Oh i can't wait to see THIS." Nabitora stated, sarcasm oozing out of every word.

"I'll show you!" Soon Naruto and Nabitora were back at it.

_"Next week is going to be interesting." _ Sakura thought to herself.

* * *

"Wow Naruto. When did you learn to tell stories like that?" By this time, Naruto and Sakura had moved away from the road and sat around a fire.

"Well I guess you can thank Pervy Sage for the story telling skills. He also taught me what stories I should and shouldn't tell." He rubbed the back of his head in the age old sign of nervousness. Sakura just rolled her eyes at his statement.

"Well Naruto, you've got to tell me all of these stories now I think it's my turn to tell you about the the Chunin Exams." She laughed as he started to protest.

"But Sakuraaa, that's the best part of this story!" Naruto continued to whine and complain as she just laughed at him. When she finally stopped laughing, she looked at her blond friend to see him sporting a broad smile. Before she knew it, she found a smile had grown on her face too.

"Damn it Naruto" she said playfully "put that thing away. Its bright enough to blind someone!" They both sat laughing at her "angry" comment.

"Ok Sakura, now I wanna hear how the Chunin Exams went." She yawned a little too loudly causing Naruto to add, "First thing tomorrow, ok?"

She nodded tiredly, sleep already overtaking her.

* * *

Naruto couldn't sleep. He was just plain happy. For the last four years, Sakura and himself had been out on the road training their ninjutsu and taijutsu. During that time, him and Sakura had become immensely strong ninja and had become well known through their excellent teamwork. They also became very close friends during this time. About three years ago, Naruto met the Eight Tails Jinchuuriki, Killer Bee, had had developed a friendship with him. With Killer Bee's help, and Sakura's support, he was close to becoming the second perfect Jinchuuriki. The only thing stopping him: the Kyubi still refused to become friends with him.

"Stupid Fox" Naruto muttered to himself.

"Stupid boy." Replied the Kyubi with a slight grin. The Kyubi was constantly enjoying himself by finding different ways of rejecting Naruto's proposals although he had begun to respect the child's skill and determination. The Kyubi hated to admit it but the child was starting to grow on him. Again he would probably never acknowledge that though.

Also during this time Sakura had become a very skilled genjutsu user. Some say that she is on par with their former friend and mentor, Kurenai Yuhi. The skill the two of them developed during this time put them ahead of nearly everyone, even the legendary Sannin. Naruto recently remembered the words of the cloaked man that fateful day

"You have 10 years, Naruto. I hope for your sake that you're ready."

Well now Naruto was positive he was ready for whatever came his way. The 10 year mark was next week. He suddenly detected another presence. An impossibly strong presence.

"Come out I already know someone's out there." Naruto instantly stepped in front of Sakura's sleeping form when a familiar cloaked figure emerged. "YOU?!"

"Shut up! Do you want to wake your friend?" The Sage was pleased at taking Naruto off gaurd.

"What do you want?" Naruto questioned as he lowered himself into an attack position.

"To talk" the Sage simply said as he sat down, patting the ground next to him. "Come, sit."

* * *

Naruto stared at the man in front of him. He had just been told all of the Sage's abilities and plans by the Sage himself.

Naruto watched the Sage get up and start to leave, but was too shocked to do anything but ask his name.

"Just refer to me as the Chakra Sage." The robed figure barely turned his head but as he did Naruto caught a glimpse of his third eye, the Heavenly Eye. He remembered the Chakra Sage's words.

"Only three of these eyes exist in the universe at one time and i own two of them." It was the only ability he was left in the dark about, yet it terrified him.

"Well" he muttered "next week, it all begins."

* * *

AN: Another chapter and blah blah blah you know the rest. Enjoy!


	8. Gara Enters the Stage

"Wake up Naruto!" Sakura was dumbfounded at how heavy of a sleeper he could be, even after 4 years. "Jeez your still just as bad as you were when we were younger." When he still didn't move Sakura started to lose her temper.

Naruto awoke to see Sakura advancing towards him, vein popping out, and right away he knew he was in trouble.

"Woah, woah, woah Sakura what did I do know?" He gulped nervously. If he didn't calm her down his morning was about to get ALOT more painful. He was slowly backing away when his foot caught on something causing him to fall backwards. He twisted his head around to see the ground. Only problem was the ground was several hundred feet lower than he expected.

Naruto found a hand grasping his and grabbed on tightly.

"Naruto what would you do without me?" Sakura was shaking her head as she pulled him back to his feet. "Besides you still have to hear my story." She sat back with a slight grin gracing her lips.

"Thank you Sakura! I guess now I really owe you one." Naruto found a spot to sit down. He motioned for Sakura to do the same, which she did.  
"Where should I begin? Hmm the test was boring so why not in the Forest of Death..."

* * *

"Get down" Kiba hissed, "they're right up ahead." They had been following a group of strong people hoping they would kill someone with a Heaven Scroll. Sadly they had no such luck but they did see several dead teams as they were trailing them. Kiba wasfinally starting to recognize the power of the group they were following. Not to mention Akamaru who was cowering in Kiba's jacket.

"Kiba whats so scary about these guys? So what they killed a few people is that really that impressive?" Naruto was itching to be in the thick of things. If only Naruto knew the level of power coming from this group...and the bloodlust coming from HIM. Kiba and Akamaru both shuddered at the thought.

They were so distracted by their thoughts that they didn't realize they just stumbled into the middle of a fight. A fight that was just ending. Everyone looked up to see 3 piles of sand collapse in on themselves.

Gara turned to look at the new victims that just stumbled into the field. He recognized them from several days ago when they all had their "introduction". Gara suddenly grabbed his head as waves of pain radiated outwards.

"Why do they continue to come forward mother? Haven't I proved that I am alive?" After a few moments he smiled and muttered "Yes your right. There is never too much proof!" The sand began to pour out of his gourd and began to race towards his next targets.

Kiba began to scramble backwards when he felt a pull on his leg.

"SHIT!"

It was too late! As Kiba was now suspended by his leg by the sand that continued to climb up his leg.

"Help! Guys get it off!" Kiba was frantic. He had just witnessed what this sand could do and was starting to gag at the overwhelming stench of blood radiating from the sand. Everyone was shocked to see the sand stop at the top of his leg. Kiba was still struggling to get free while calling for help. His friends were helpless though and could only watch as Kiba was dangling above them. They never noticed the sand surrounding their feet until it was too late. With their feet trapped they were helpless as Gara approached their immobile forms. He walked straight to Naruto and asked him a simple question, "Would you leave your friends to survive?"

"Never! What would that make me huh?" Naruto was set on his answer. He would NEVER leave his friends to die.

Gara continued to study Naruto, looking for some sort of answer until finally, "Then fight me for their freedom."

"Naruto!" Kiba was calling down to him, "Naruto don't do it! He'll kill you and then kill us anyways! Save yourself!" Gara, without looking at Kiba, held his hand out and closed his fist. Kiba cried out in pain as the bones in his leg were crushed to the point of becoming powder. As soon as the sand let go it immediatly caught him by the arm. He suddenly felt sand forcing its way behind his left eye. The pain was unbearable and Kiba was continually screaming in an unimaginable amount of pain.

For the second time ever, Naruto snapped.

"Who the FUCK" Naruto slammed Gara into a tree, "do you think you are!" He followed up with a massive blow towards Gara. Not even the sand could stand in the ways as Naruto poured all of his rage into that one punch. A sickening crunch was heard throughout the field as Gara's arm was snapped clean in half. The arm was twisted at an unnatural angle that confirmed the fact that his arm was broken in half.

"I'm not going to kill you" Naruto stated, much more calmly "instead, I'm going to let you go. Hopefully you figure out a new means of confirming your existance."

This time Gara lost his cool. He pointed his hand back towards Kiba and ripped it forward. Everyone, including Temari and Kankuro, watched as Kiba's left eye was ripped out of his head.

"You can't protect them all" Gara said calmly.

* * *

"And to think that Gara is now the Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand and he is now one of our closest friends. Although even I will never understand how Kiba came to forgive him." Naruto had started brooding when Sakura had mentioned when he lost control but now he was all cheerful and smiling again. Sakura could never help but smile when he did. She sat and thought about the matches and how Naruto had saved her dyring the attack. She suddenly started to realize that the feelings she harboured for Naruto were much more than just friendship.

She finally understood that she might be falling in love.

* * *

AN: Another day another chapter haha. Please leave (sane) reviews (you know who you are) and please check out my profile as I have announced 2 more books that I will hopefully be starting on soon. Enjoy the chapter!


	9. Naruto's Welcome Party

When Sakura finally finished retelling the events of the Chunin Exams darkness had already fallen around the area so Naruto and Sakura decided to stay in the camp. As they were working on putting the tents back up Naruto couldn't help but glance in Sakura's direction every-so-often and was kind of surprised to see her doing the same. He was even more surprised when she would blush a little after he caught her.

"Hey Sakura!" She jumped a little when he called out her name. "Do you need some help over there?" It was then that he seen the slash in her tent.

"Wait Sakura, when did that happen?" He was pointing towards the area that was periodicly flapping in the wind.

"Remember when those bandits attcked our camp a few weeks back?" Naruto thought back until he finally remembered the incident. "Well one of them got the bright idea to try to kill me as I slept. Needless to say, he got quite a surprise!" She clenched her fist as she said that, a fire burning in her eyes. It dawned on Naruto that her mind was now back in the middle of that fight. When she finally returned to their time period she heard Naruto mutter "Damn can she be scary sometimes."

"What was that Naruto?" He heard knuckles cracking behind him, causing him to gulp. "Did you want to say something, Naruto?" He jumped a little when he felt her breath on his ear."

"What the- I didn't even hear you move!" Naruto grabbed his chest, playfully feigning a heart attack.

Sakura just shook her head. "Well I AM a ninja Naruto. Aren't we SUPPOSED to be quiet?"

"Hey whats that supposed to mean? Huh Sakura?" Naruto was back on his feet glaring at the pinkette.

"Oh nothing..." Sakura was really starting to enjoy teasing him. She started to laugh when he tried to talk again, only managing to sputter out an incoherent jumble of words. She watched Naruto as he sat down. "No doubt he's already planning payback." Sakura thought to herself.

"Hey Sakura you can take my tent." He nodded his head towards said tent. She was about to protest until she looked in his eyes. They were full of...concern...worry? She couldn't place it. She continued brooding until she realized that she was lying down in Naruto's tent.

"When did i get here?" She muttered about. She was to tired to think though and sleep soon overtook her.

Naruto waited until he knew she was asleep before he too fell asleep. He knew he was gonna need at least a little rest for some upcoming events.

The masked shinobi watched Naruto fall asleep. He still couldn't believe he was about to attack the Hero of the Leaf but orders were orders. He readjusted his headband to keep it from glinting in the light from the fire. He felt his hand brush across the Leaf symbol engraved on his forehead. He got the order to advance so he silently worked his way forward towards Naruto's immoblie form. He got the syringe out and prepared the sleeping agent inside.

"Please forgive me, Naruto."

In a flurry of movement he found the syringe sticking out of his neck, empty.

"Damn...It..." Darkness.

Naruto watched as his clones rushed out of the ground. Several fists found their marks as masks shattered and ANBU agents were sent flying.

"You know you guys aren't as good as you would like to believe." Naruto was pretty damn proud about his ambush working. On ANBU agents to top it.

"Naruto, you are under arrest for treason against the Hidden Leaf Village. Come with us so we may avoid getting violent. Lord Donzo would prefer it if you weren't too injured."

Naruto was shocked. First he comes home to find he is under arrest for treason and by Donzo's men none the less.

"Wait, how is Donzo able to order my arrest?" Naruto wanted answers. "What about Granny Tsunade? She wouldn't allow this to happen!"

"Lady Tsunade is no longer in charge. Lord Donzo is the Sixth Hokage."

"WHAAAT!" Sakura came rushing out of the tent. The fire rekindled in her emerald eyes.

"Oh great. Now you've done it!" Naruto took a few steps back and watched as Sakura's fist connected with the first face she seen. The poor man was sent to the other side of the field before he even realized he had been hit. Sakura followed up with grabbing 2 more ANBU by their faces and smashing them into the ground. Naruto, not to be out done, created to Rasengans in his hands and rushed forward into the battle.

After 2 minutes of intense fighting, the ANBU agents lay scattered around the field.

"Damn Sakura. Way to destroy the camp." Sakura looked around and grinned sheepishly.

"Well atleast I didn't destroy half of the forrest with Rasengans!" Sakura was not about to let Naruto blame her when he cause his own share of destruction.

"Well look at you 2 all grown up." Both heads snapped towards the sound of the voice to see Tsunade standing there with Kakashi, Yamato and the rest of their friends.

"God Naruto why are you always so annoying." Naruto glanced at the Uchiha.

"Glad to see some people never change." Naruto was glad to see everyone but he needed answers. "What happened while we were gone?"

"Not here. Hurry up and lets get out of here. Come on before more show up."

Naruto was shocked at what happened while he was away.

"What you're saying is Donzo actually lead a revolution after we left!" Naruto could feel himself getting angry.

"Yeah and that's only the beginning. But now with you 2 home we can finally take back the Leaf." Naruto had to cut Nabitora off there.

"No guys. Something big is coming and it's gonna hit the Leaf with its' full force. There's nothing we can do either. Not even I can stop it. I hate to say it but..." Naruto looked at all of his friends, "the Leaf Village is about to be destroyed."

AN: here's another chapter of (Re)Setting the Stage. You all know what to do. Enjoy!


	10. The Hero's First Task

The Chakra Sage walked towards the Leaf Village at a lazy pace, knowing fully well that the outcome would be the same. When the gates came into sight.

"Well" he sighed "lets get this over with."

He continued walking towards the gate when several ANBU units appeared in front of him. The Sage didn't even give them a chance to talk as he began to pull the chakra from their bodies and absorbing it. With their chakra completely gone the bodies fell in a crumpled mass on the ground. The gates slammed shut in response to his sudden attack which caused him to chuckle. When he reached the gates he extended one hand, laying it on the gate.

"Earth Style: City Siege Jutsu"

The walls began to disintegrate from his touch and the wooden gate rotted away.

"Ah the Leaf Village. Sadly im only here for one man's head." He suddenly found himself surrounded by several hundred members of ROOT.

"You won't continue any further!"

This statement was met with another chuckle and the Sage made a series of lightning fast hand signs.

"Chakra Style: Chakra Beam Jutsu"

An orb of pure chakra began to form in his hand. The ROOT agents took this time to attack before his jutsu was complete. A rain of chakra kunai shot out from his body, impaling dozens of the shinobi. By this time his hand was now an orb of chakra.

"RELEASE"

A massive beam of chakra shot from the orb. He carefully condensed the beam until it was the width of his arm. He began to make beams branch off impaling the rest of his foes. Through the beams he drained all of their chakra and life energy, learning everything about them and all of their jutsus through their chakra. Afterwards he swung the beam in a large arc through the village finally focusing on the Hokage Mansion, causing it to detonate in a massive ball of energy. The Sage felt Donzo's chakra fleeing and appeared in front of him, chakra sword in hand.

"Where do you think your going?" Not waiting for an answer he swung his sword in an arc. Donzo's body toppled over, an a small fountain of blood erupting from his now headless neck.

"Wow. I knew Donzo was a coward but this? This is pathetic. To abandon your village...You don't deserve the title of Hokage." The Sage was disgusted by Donzo's actions. He proceeded to remove the bandage from his head to reveal the Sharingan beneath. Without hesitation he plunged a thin knife made of chakra behind the eye and carefully pulled it out, making sure the nerve remained attached. After this he removed his hood to reveal a scar running from his right temple, beneath his green hair, all the way to the left side of his chin. But the most feature most would have noticed was the third eye. It too was green but its' pupil was in the shape of an "X" extending all the way across the eye. He lined up the nerve ending with the center of the pupil and touched the nerve too his eye. If anyone had been watching, they would've been shocked to see the third eye absorb the Sharingan. In the 4 triangles created by the pupil 4 tomoe appeared, one in each quadrant. The third eye immediately closed when this was done.

"Well, my Heavenly Eye is one more step closer to completion." The Sage was pleased at how easy this was. He was also pleased that Naruto had heeded his warning to stay away. With his task completed he disapeared in a ball of chakra.

With the attack over, Naruto lead the others out of the tree line to help the village. Everyone was shocked that one man was capable of doing such extreme amounts of damage with one jutsu.

"Naruto, thank god you warned us. If you hadn't our bodies would have been among the fallen." Tsunade was saddened by the death of so many but was glad to be alive.

"Yeah the Sage had visited our camp and told me some interesting things. But thats a story for another time. Right now we have to focus on stablizing the village and start repairs immediatly." Naruto began to take charge and directed everyone on what to do. Tsunade watched on as everyone listened without question. Sakura ended up with Tsunade to check for survivors.

"Well, well" Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle, "it seems Naruto picked the right dream to have. He's a natural born leader!" Sakura stopped for a second and, despite the circumstances, burst into laughter.

"If only you knew Lady Tsunade! He was like that after the first year on the road!" Tsunade joined Sakura in her laughter. Eventually the duo grew silent as they continued on with their grim task.

* * *

Several months passed as the village was rebuilt completely. Tsunade, despite her jutsu, sported several new grey hairs. Sakura sat deep in thought, only after Tsunade made a noise did she look at her mentor.

"Sakura is something bothering you?" Tsunade was concerned about her former pupil. She seemed alot more distracted as of late.

"Lady Tsunade, forgive me if I offened you, did you love Master Jiraiya?" Tsunade was taken back by the surge of emotions one question caused.

"Yes Skura. Yes I was. I just realized it too late" Tsunade felt overwhelmed by the feeling of loss inside herself but suddenly realized something. "So thats it huh?" Tsunade wanted to slap herself for not reallizing it sooner. "Sakura who is it?"

"That easy huh? Well I think I like him at least." Sakura was forced to sit down due to all of the emotions swirling inside her head.

"Is it Naruto?"

Sakura just stared, dumbfounded, at her former master. "How did you-"

"Sakura I'm not the only one. All of your friends have seen it too. Sakura take it from me. Don't let him slip away. Once he does, you'll never be able to catch him again." Tsunade needed a drink. She waved her hand, dismissing Sakura, and took out her bottle of sake.

Sakura arrived at Naruto's appartment and knocked on the door. Hearing a grumble inside she realized that he wouldn't be awake yet so she went in. As she picked her way through the minefield of trash she tried to think of what to say to him. The more she thought about it the more nervous the pink-haired kunoichi became. Suddenly she felt something stab her foot causing her to yelp in pain and jump back a little. Unfortunately she landed on something quite unstable and began to fall. Suddenly a pair of strong hands grabbed onto her arms and pulled her back up. Sakura's heart stopped as she came face to face with a bare-chested Naruto.

"Are you ok Sakura?"

All she could do was sit their stuttering as she felt her face heating up.

"Hey N-Naruto. You can let go now." She mentally slapped herself again. She didn't actually WANT him to let go but it was a reflex.

"Oh yeah sorry... Are you ok?" Sakura nodded as he released her. She decided to do what she came to do before her cheeks burst into flames.

"Hey Naruto... I was wondering if maybe you might want to go eat somewhere tonight?" She watched as a broad smile spread across his face.

"Oh hell ye- I...I mean yeah Sakura that would be awesome!" She couldn't help but smile at his excitement.

"Great. Just meet me outside the hospital at 6:00 and we'll go from there." Sakura gave him a hug and left. She smiled again as she heard Naruto give out a whoop of excitement.

The Sage watched the whole thing happen. Originally he had come to talk to Naruto but he arrived just as the pink-haired girl, Sakura, started falling. He seen Naruto rush from his bed to catch her so he stood on the roof across the street and watched.

"Good for you kid. Good for you." The Sage decided the conversation could wait for another time. Instead he started to make his way to the Hyuga complex.

"Time for the next piece."

AN: Well there you have it. Naruto got his date and I got to kill Donzo YAY. Anyways, you all know what to do. Enjoy!


	11. Rise of the Reaper

Naruto was so excited. He sat outside the hospital with a huge grin on his face. He still couldn't believe his luck. Sakura had asked him out! He felt like doing backflips around Konoha. Only thing was he needed to wait 5 more minutes.

"Hey Naruto!" He looked over to see Konohamaru waving at him.

"Hey Konohamaru whats up?" Naruto still couldn't wipe the silly grin off his face.

"Are you ok Naruto?" Konohamaru had seen Naruto excited before but this? This was a WHOLE other level.

"Yeah I'm just really happy. Sakura finally asked me on a date!" The blonde Was sporting the largest grin Konohamaru had ever seen!

"Wow good for you!" He was happy for Naruto. "Well it was good seeing you. Have fun Naruto!" Konohamaru got up from the bench and started off towards his house.

Sakura breathed in the fresh air after a long day in the hospital. When she looked around she couldn't help but smile to see Naruto smiling at her.

"Naruto how long have you been waiting?"

"Not long. Only 5 minutes" Naruto shrugged. "I wouldn't miss this for the world!"

Sakura was elated to hear him say that. "Lets go Naruto."

Sakura was excited after the meal. They ate at a nice restraunt and Naruto, for the first time, ordered something that wasn't ramen! They had laughed quite a bit too. Now the walked slowly back Towards her new apartment, both enjoying each other's company. Sakura decided too risk it and slipped her hand into Naruto's hand. He was both shocked and happy by the move. She was happy when she felt his hand tighten around hers. They both continued walking when the silence was cut off by an explosion that came from the Hyuga complex.

"Oh no." Naruto let go of her hand and instantly sprinted off towards the explosion with Sakura following close behind. About halfway to the complex the Sage stepped out in front of them. Naruto noticed one eye was pitch black while the other one was still blue.

"Naruto I don't have much time to explain but" he plunged his hand into Naruto's chest grabbing onto his heart. Naruto dropped to one knee as shock started to cause him to go numb.

"I'm going to break the chakra seal. Please bear with the pain. I'm sorry." With that the Sage started to flood Naruto's chakra system with his own, blending their chakras the whole time.

Naruto was screaming in pain and trying to force the Sage's hand out of his chest, to no avail. He felt something break and heard the sounds of tearing before darkness consumed him.

Sakura looked on in horror to see a massive seal get ripped out of Naruto's chest. She watched Naruto go limp and something inside of her felt...Dead. She seen the Sage break the seal in half before grabbing onto Naruto's heart again and muttering three words: "Chakra Seal: Release!"

Naruto was staring at the Kyuubi and it was staring back.

"You know Naruto, I have never respected a human being before but of all people you have to somehow earn a shred of respect from me. Damn it boy!" Before Naruto could respond he felt a like someone was pulling his hand. He opened his eyes to see Sakura above him, tears falling from her eyes.

"Why do you cry Sakura?"

Sakura was shocked to see the hole in Naruto's chest close up and he started to rise. Naruto stared at the Sage in front of him only to see that both of his eyes were now black.

"FINALLY!"

They both watched the man in front of them turn to confront them.

"That old fool is finally gone! It's a shame he had to break your seal though. He always had to make things difficult. But now the Sage of the Heavens is no more. Now it's my turn. Behold the Reaper!" Both of his hands were outstretched.

"Now child, I'm going to destroy all you hold dear and force you to watch" The Reaper summoned his scythe "as a soul. You will be helpless as your friends die!" with that the Reaper charged Naruto. To his surprise the boy caught his scythe and cast it aside. The Reaper laughed darkly and charged again, launching a flurry of strikes that quickly overwhelmed him.

Naruto struggled to keep up as he blocked each blow. With every strike he blocked a shockwave of pure energy was ejected into the night.

"Impressive child. Who would've thought a child would keep up with me." For the first time in over a hundred years, a human impressed the Reaper.

"Why do you call me a child when I'm clearly in my 20's?" Sakura dropped her head. He always thought about the wrong things at the wrong time.

Instead of answering, the Reaper rushed forward and smashed Naruto in the face. Naruto was sent flying through several houses before the Reaper appeared behind him and launched Naruto into the air. With each hit everyone could see flashes as shockwave of energy were released on contact. Naruto was helpless to defend as another devastating punch to the ribs was rewarded with a sickening crunch as Naruto was sent rocketing through the sky only to have the Reaper appear over and over smashing him this way and that way. Finally the Reaper appeared above a broken and battered Naruto and delivered a bone crushing kick to the chest which was rewarded with the sound of bones shattering as Naruto impacted with the ground. The impact caused a crater several blocks wide to form from the sheer force of the kick. Sakura gasped and rushed forward towards Naruto only to be completely shocked to see him stand up again.

The Reaper was growing bored with the child. He did have to acknowledge that the boy was strong though as he watched Naruto limp out of the crater. Naruto was about to speak when a large sword was punched through his chest. He was starting to panick as the sword was lifted up causing him to slide to the hilt of the blade. Everything was growing foggy when he heard someone whisper into his ear: "Fight this."

With that the sage released the seal keeping the Kyuubi within the boy. He then tossed the boy's body off of the blade. There was nothing but silence as the thud caused by Naruto's body was heard by all onlookers. Only did Sakura screaming Naruto's name break the trance everyone had been in. The Reaper walked towards the Hokage Mansion with a new thought in mind.

"It is time for this world to die." He was grinning at the pain he just caused all of the boy's friends. Their was no way he could fight off death and the Kyuubi at the same time. The Reaper was interrupted by a lady with a purple diamond on her forehead.

"You will not continue any farther. As the Hokage of Konoha I will stop you!" Tsunade was pissed. She had watched Naruto get pulverized like he was an insect and she was not going to let him get away. She launched a massive flurry of devastating blows. She was shocked as the Reaper just simply blocked each attack. What made it even more shocking was the fact that each blow could kill a shinobi even if they were blocked. She was growing more and more irritated and finally was able to land a solid blow to his jaw. He was sent flying through the air and smashed into the Hokage Mansion's office windows.

"Well you saved me the walk here." The Reaper casually made his way to the roof. Tsunade reached him just in time to hear "Reaper Summoning: Gates of Hell!" Tsunade watched as the Reaper inserted his fingers into 5 glowing red holes and began to turn the center.

"Release!"

The ground beneath them began to fall away revealing a massive staircase leading into the fiery depths of the earth. as she gazed into the inferno she saw an army begin to ascend the stairs. As they advanced she could see hundreds of thousands of people climbing the stair.

"Everyone we must retreat to Suna!" Tsunade's voice boomed throughout Konoha and she was proud to see the shinobi immediately begin evacuation. She turned to confront the Reaper when she felt a sharp pain through her stomach.

* * *

Sakura watched as Tsunade was lifted into the air by the massive sword. She watched in horror as her former master was launched into the air.

"Goodbye Sakura, Naruto. I only wish I could see you're relationship flourish." Sakura read the lips of Tsunade and watched the Reaper slice her in half. Sakura's tears fell unabated but she knew she needed to stabilize Naruto otherwise he would soon die.

"Don't you die Naruto. Please don't die."

* * *

Naruto awoke to see the Kyuubi staring at him. The only problem was there were no bars between them.

"Of all the people I have ever encountered, Naruto you are the bravest. Do you remember when you told me that you would resolve the hatred in me? Well this hatred originated from the use of me and my brothers as weapons. We were always treated like weapons, not living things, and this slowly caused me to hate every human. But you Naruto...You have always treated me as an equal. Even in the face of my overwhelming hate, you still managed to earn my respect. So I offer you my chakra with no strings attached. As a comrade." The fox held out his fist.

"As a friend." Naruto added as he bumped fists with the fox.

"My name is Kurama."

"Good to finally hear a name." Naruto smiled at his new friend.

* * *

Na

Naruto opened his eyes to see he was in a hospital. He rolled his eyes.

_"I'm gonna have to talk to Granny Tsunade about this!"_ He struggled to get up but his injuries were still hurting him. He was covered nearly head to toe in bandages. He fell back onto the bed and groaned in pain. He looked outside to see it was night but he also noticed something else. "Sand?"

He looked next to him to see Sakura asleep in a chair. He gently touched her elbow which caused her to instinctively grab a kunai. Her eyes teared up as she looked into Naruto's deep blue eyes.

"N-Naruto your awake...Oh thank god I thought I lost you!" She flopped down onto Naruto's chest and started crying, hugging Naruto the whole time. He hugged her back as she continued to sob.

"How long was I out?" Naruto needed to know.

"For about 2 weeks. I...I'm so glad your alive!" She continued to hug Naruto.

"Hey it would take more than that to kill me." Even despite all of his injuries and all of the bandages, he was still able to pull off a grin that melted Sakura's heart.

"Naruto I need to tell you something...Tsunade is dead and Konoha has fallen." Naruto felt like a ton of bricks just hit him. His eyes started to tear up.

"I...I'm going to kill him!" Naruto shocked Sakura by standing up, slowly but still standing up nonetheless. It was only when he got to the door did Sakura stop him.

"You idiot." She said lovingly. She held his shoulders and lead him back to his bed.

"Why are you staring at me like that Sakura?"

"Because Naruto... I was so afraid you would die. I don't-" Sakura was cut off as all of their friends entered the room, with Gaara leading the group.

"Welcome back Naruto and welcome to Suna." Gaara smiled warmly as Naruto's friends sat all around him. They were so happy he was awake.

"Gaara I need a favor."

"Anything."

"When I get out, I need an area to train. I'm going to take back Konoha."

* * *

AN: Yes Konoha has fallen. It's sad to say it but Tsunade has also been slain. I only hope that you liked the chapter. Also please leave reviews on the story. I would really like to know what you guys think. One more thing, to the guest with all of the Naru Saku reviews, thank you I'm very glad that you are enjoying the story. Please keep writing those reviews! Enjoy!


	12. The Orange Spark meets the Sakura Tree

Message from the Author: Wow guys. Just...Wow. I would like to announce that as of last chapter my story has 2000+ views in just 3 short weeks. Thank you everybody. This is a special chapter to celebrate but I will continue to develope the story so please enjoy!

* * *

Naruto sat on the walls of Suna and gazed out over the desert. He had been training intensely this entire week and had made outstanding progress. Only thing was he had NEVER collapsed of chakra exhaustion once this week. No one could explain it until he remembered what the Chakra Sage had said to him.

"I have broken your chakra seal."

No one could figure out what he meant until one day Sakura had approached Naruto with some long awaited information.

* * *

"Hey Naruto! I think I found something!" Naruto and Sakura had been searching high and low to find out what was meant by the Sage's words. As Naruto approached Sakura he glanced at the book she held.

"Myths and Legends of the Shinobi World? Really Sakura?" Naruto believed that she finally went off the deep end.

"Naruto it's all that we have left! I don't know what else to try!" Sakura almost sounded desperate. She wanted nothing more than to help her blonde friend but she was literally out of options. Naruto just nodded his response. Neither of the two had heard about half of the stories they found but one in particular caught their attention.

"The Legend of the Reaper." They both stared at the title and glanced at each other. The Reaper was suppose to be the name of the man that put Naruto in a comatose state for 2 weeks. Sakura looked at Naruto and, for the first time in her life, she saw absolute fear in his eyes.

Naruto was petrified. For the past week he had been having nightmares about the Reaper killing his friends with him being unable to help. He had woken up in a cold sweat and even now his chest still ached from being shattered. Even with Kurama trying his best, that injury would never fully heal. Now he sat staring at a picture of the very being that caused him all of these sleepless nights and he was terrified.

"Hey Naruto are you ok? You don't have to do this." Sakura's voice was filled with concern. She was worried about Naruto's reaction to a picture but she watched Naruto give a slight shake of his head. His eyes almost instantly returned to being filled with confidence.

"No Sakura, I have to do this. Besides I'm not alone. Your gonna be here so if things get too bad I always have you to help." Sakura found herself smiling at Naruto's response.

"Ok Naruto then let's do this."

* * *

The Legend of the Reaper

On death's doorstep a man was confronted by the Reaper.

"Your time has come Shiro Akmira. I've come to collect your soul." The Reaper summoned his scythe as he said this. He prepared to separate the Shiro's soul from his body when Shiro spoke up.

"Wait!" Shiro cried. "Please wait. I would like to offer you a proposition." The Reaper lowered his scythe as he listened to the man in front of him. "I wish to fight you for my life. If I win then I get to live an eternal life. But if you win then I will become your vessel. My body will become your permanent link to this world. In this way you would be able to come and go as you please. Instead of waiting to collect a dying soul you could begin to prematurely collect souls."

This offer greatly interested the Reaper and he began to contemplate his answer. If he lost than one man gets to live forever. Honestly not that big of a deal. But if he wins than he has a permanent link to this world. THAT was a very big deal.

"I accept your challenge." The Reaper restored the man to his regular health. The man immediately drew 2 katanas and charged the Reaper. He unleashed a series of devastating attacks that caused the Reaper to immediately go on the defensive. Soon the man started to lessen the intensity of his attcks. The Reaper capitalized on this and went on the offensive.

The legendary battle continued for a full 3 days until Shiro was struck down. The Reaper was thoroughly impressed by the man in front of him.

"I have not seen such strength since the Sage of the Six Paths sealed me into the underworld. Who are you?"

The man looked up at the Reaper before he responded. "I am the former student of the Sage of the Six Paths."

The Reaper came to a decision.

"I have decided to grant you eternal life but on one condition: you will become my vessel but we will share this body." The Reaper held out his hand. When the man took it the Reaper entered his body. He was shocked to find himself immediately surpressed.

"I will not become become your harbinger of death. Instead I will take your gift AND I will seal you away inside of me." Shiro was pleased when the gate he had prepared finally closed, sealing the Reaper away.

* * *

When the story was finished Naruto and Sakura were beyond words. Instead they went on to read that Shiro also broke the chakra seal, giving him an unlimited amount of chakra. Naruto finally knew what happened to him and he had a good idea of who his opponent was. He was dealing with the Reaper of Death.

* * *

Naruto's little flashback was interrupted when someone sat down next to him. He didn't even have to look to know who was there.

"Hey Sakura."

"Hey Naruto."

The pinkette looked at her former travel companion and sighed a little. Recently, it was impossible for her to stop thinking about Naruto. He seemed to dominate her thoughts and she had started to realize that she needed to confront her thoughts and feelings on Naruto. The more she had thought about it the more she realized that she loved the blonde shinobi. Now here he was preparing to fight a legendary figure in the legends of shinobi and she would be damned if he was going to fight alone.

"Hey Naruto. I know that you want to face the Reaper alone but I think it's time for to realize that no matter what you say, I'm going to fight with you so you might as well let me train with you." Sakura waited for him to argue or complain or do something.

"Thank you Sakura. This is one opponent that I'm terrified to face alone." Naruto looked over to Sakura smiling. "I think it's time to find more help then."

* * *

A month of training passed and Naruto became increasingly strong. Naruto's chakra control became very impressive under Sakura's tutelage. He was now able to create two Rasenshurikens in each hand. Everyone was shocked to find this level of control for an unlimited amount of chakra. But even after all this Naruto continued to insist that they weren't ready to fight the Reaper.

"Why do you keep saying were not ready Naruto? We've been training for a month almost constantly!" Sakura was exhausted. She may love him but even then her patience was running out.

"You couldn't understand. When he fought me you seen the damage he caused. The scary part is that he was holding back." Once again that look returned to his eyes. The look of a cornered animal.

"It's ok Naruto. This time you'll have your friends backing you up." Sakura said fondly to a very stressed Naruto.

"That is exactly what scares me. If any of you guys died trying to help me I don't...I don't wanna lose anyone." Naruto looked up at Sakura. "Especially you."

Sakura didn't know What to say. The depth of care she heard in Naruto's voice was astounding. As she was about to say somethion Temari came up the staircase with a complaining Shikamaru being drug behind her.

"Hi Temari. Hi Shikamaru." Naruto waved cheerfully at the 2 ninja.

Temari looked over at the 2 and waved back with her free hand. "Mind if we join you?"

"Not at all!" Hearing this Temari began dragging Shikamaru towards them.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru muttered. Temari just raised a fist at him while talking to Sakura.

"So what brought you 2 up here Sakura?" Temari lowered her fist after Shikamaru sat next to Naruto.

"We were just up here to talk and enjoy the view."

"That sounds alot like a date." Temari stated with a sly smile.

At that Naruto turned extremely red and Sakura blushed profusely.

"Well good luck keeping that one under control. Shikamaru lets go we got a date of our own to get started." Temari grabbed Shikamaru's arm.

Shikamaru turned towards Naruto and said "Help me" before he was drug away.

"Well...That was interesting." Naruto said with a chuckle.

Sakura was still thinking about what Temari had said when Naruto interrupted her thoughts.

"You know Sakura I wouldn't mind if this was a date." Naruto glanced at Sakura to try and see the fist coming. To his surprise he seen a broad smile spread across her face.

"Sure Naruto. I think I would like that." Sakura said before lay down on her back. Naruto did the same as they looked into the night sky. Skaura started to think of all the times that Naruto almost died and all of the times she could have lost him. She felt like crying as she finally comprehended how easily they could die, being shinobi.

"Hey Naruto can I tell you something?"

"Sure Sakura what is it?"

"I love you."

She watched as Naruto's eyes started to water.

"Are...Your not lying right? This isn't some sick joke?" Naruto had sat up by now and still couldn't believe the love of his life said she loved him. He stared straight at Sakura, waiting for an answer.

"No Naruto. I honestly love you. I think I always have." Sakura also sat up to look at him.

"I have always waited to hear those words." Naruto hugged Sakura as he began to cry tears of joy. She hugged him back and couldn't stop smiling.

Temari, Shikamaru, and all the rest of their friends watched the moment happen.

"Well it's about damn time." Ino stated with a smile.

"Yeah right!" It was said almost at the same time. Everyone just started laughing.

"Well" Ino said, "should we get the 2 love birds?"

Kakashi and Guy walked up beside them. Kakashi said "Nah, this has been waiting too long to be interrupted now."

Guy and Lee were crying literal rivers as they both said "The power of Youth!"

Everyone just dropped their heads as Kakashi lead everyone away.

"I have a great idea for a poem." Nabitora said as they walked away.

* * *

Several months passed with Naruto and Sakura training their friends then going on dates and their skills and relationship flourished. Now the old Team 10 was together celebrating another successful mission. They had been sent out to determine the strength of the Reaper's army. Needless to say it was quite formidable.

"Hey guys I want to say something." Sakura was blushing a little as she said "Naruto proposed to me!"

This was meet with "congratulations" from both of them along with clapping.

"So whens the wedding?" Nabitora asked.

"Actually" Naruto said "We are hoping it will be in 2 weeks."

"Well then you might want to get started on planning!"

The next 2 weeks had passed in a rush as news of the wedding spread like a fire. At the ceremony the 4 remaining Kage were present along with Killer B and about several thousand people. All of Naruto and Sakura's closest friends and family were near the front, including the Kage.

After the wedding, Naruto and Sakura brought their friends to their temporary home in the Sand Village and they threw a little party.

"Hey everyone I want to read a poem that I prepared for this day." Everyone at the party turned to Nabitora as he began to read his poem.

"It has been said that when the orange spark met the Sakura trees, a fire will start that will never be put out."

AN: Well it finally happened, Naruto and Sakura are married. Yes this chapter was EXTREMELY relationship based. Next chapter... Well lets just say things happen. Please leave a review and enjoy!


	13. Rykuga the Insane

Naruto awoke to find Sakura wrapped in his arm. These past few weeks had been the best of his life. He finally was married to the woman of his dreams! Nothing could possibly go wrong. He carefully moved to get out of the bed so he wouldn't wake up Sakura. He was about to put on his shirt when a hand grabbed his throat and smashed him into the wall. Naruto would've been speechless even if the hand wasn't crushing his windpipe. Before him stood the one and only Rykuga Azu. He made a gurgling sound as he tried to speak which was rewarded by Rykuga tightening his grip.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the newlywedded Uzumaki couple. Shhh we wouldn't want to wake wake Sakura now would we?" Rykuga sat whispering as he held Naruto to the wall. Rykuga decided not to waste time as he flooded his bloodstream with iron, only to mix it with his skin. Naruto watched on in horror as Rykuga's skin started to bubble and re-solidify into iron.

"You like it? My jutsu gives me perfect control over every aspect of my body." Rykuga began to tighten his metal hand, slowly crushing Naruto's throat.

"The Reaper says 'I will see you soon'"

Suddenly Rykuga found himself with an empty hand and OUTSIDE! He looked back to see a very pissed off Sakura, fist outstretched.

"Well shit." Rykuga smashed into the ground, cratering it in the process. Rykuga dragged himself out of his hole as Naruto, Sakura, and the rest of their friends confronted him.

"Wow I will actually have to use this." All eyes were filled with shock as a third eye opened on Rykuga's head.

"I know that...That's a Heavenly Eye!" Naruto remembered how the Sage had told him that only 3 could exsist at one time. "So you have one Rykuga?"

"No I have 2. Together the Heavenly Eye of Order and the Heavenly Eye of Madness create this: the Heavenly Eye of Insanity!"

"Leaf Hurricane!"

Rykuga was struck in the face by the one and only Rock Lee. When Lee went to attack again Rykuga caught his leg.

"You are awefully fond of your leg aren't you? I wonder what would happen if" Rykuga slammed Lee onto his back, braced himself, and began to pull, "you lost it!"

Lee screamed in pain as sickening crunches and pops were heard. Lee's leg was pulled out of the socket and the muscles began to tear. To make it worse, Rykuga used his Heavenly Eye to put Lee under an extremely strong genjutsu. Everyone heard as Lee's screams intensified. Rykuga was laughing maniacly and was just about to pull off Lee's leg when he was struck in the face by Naruto. Lee was almost safe. The only problem now was the genjutsu he was under.

Naruto turned his attention back to Rykuga just in time to see the fist as it connected with his face. Naruto was sent flying only to have a wall of sand catch him.

"Thanks Gaara." Naruto muttered as the Sand Siblings joined the fight. Naruto entered into a bout of taijutsu with Rykuga, his friends striking when they could. Slowly Naruto watched helplessly as his friends were picked off one by one, forced to retreat from injuries. Finally Rykuga grabbed Neji and cut his throat without hesitation. Rykuga then transformed his hand into a massive blade and stabbed Neji. He cast his broken body to the ground.

"You have 2 minutes to save him." Rykuga was laughing maniacally as he continued to advance. Naruto quickly attacked him as he called out to Sakura to heal Neji. She quickly obliged and raced over to her fallen friend. Suddenly Naruto found himself pinned to a wall, iron spears protruding from both shoulders.

"Come on! I want to fight the Kyuubi. Come on out foxy and lets play!" Naruto smiled inwardly as Kurama just rolled his eyes.

"This guy must have a death wish."

Before Naruto could respond he heard Rykuga say this: "Fine then. I guess I'll have to settle with killing your pink-haired wife." Rykuga pointed his fingers in the shape of a gun towards Sakura.

"Bang"

An iron bullet hit Sakura between the shoulders causing her to collapse.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Naruto ripped himself from the wall.

"Kurama, switch. I want this fucker DEAD!"

* * *

"NOOOOOOO!"

Everyone watched in shock as Naruto sprouted 6 tails and immediately attacked Rykuga. Rykuga laughed and began to shot Naruto only for the bullets to bounce off. Naruto launched toward Rykuga and began battling using primitive taijutsu. Even then Rykuga was able to keep up and both figures became blurs.

"Did you see her fall. Oh imagine the pain she felt. Or the feeling of betrayal because her husband couldn't protect her!" He couldn't help but laugh as he could see Naruto snap.

A massive beam of read chakra shot into the sky and began expanding. The killer intent was so extreme that many people that watched began to shudder uncontrollably.A massive orange paw emerged from the beam.

"Oh no!" Gaara stared in horror as the Nine Tailed Demon Fox emerged. "It's free."

* * *

Kurama streched as it was his first time being free in 20 years. He then located Rykuga and began to form a Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Not here Kurama. You might injure my friends." Naruto glanced at the fox to see him nod.

"Got it Naruto."

Kurama grabbed Rykuga and launched him into the air before he fired the Tailed Beast Bomb. Both Kurama and Naruto watched in satisfaction as Rykuga disappeared in the blast.

"Ok Kurama, please switch back." Naruto wanted desperately to check on Sakura. Kurama nodded his head.

"She is still alive Naruto." Kurama knew what his blonde friend was thinking.

Right before everyone's eyes, the Kyuubi shrank back down into a panting Naruto. Naruto immediately made his way to Sakura, not noticing the looks of amazement on everyone's faces. Only after Sakura had began healing the bullet hole did he notice.

"What?" Naruto felt like he was a child again as everyone stared at him.

"Naruto. Did you just release the Kyuubi?!" It was Gaara that said this.

"Yes I did, and his name is Kurama." Naruto again watched everyone's faces turn to that of astonishment. He then realized that he never explained what happened.

* * *

After telling the whole story there was nothing but utter silence until Sakura finally said something.

"I'm so proud of you Naruto. You did something that no one else could do: you tamed the Kyuubi!"

"Jeez it sounds like you domesticated me when she puts it that way." Kurama had a look of digust on his face.

"Well Kurama get used to it. She is my wife and your comrade." Naruto chuckled at the fox's expression.

"Hey Naruto."

"Yeah Sakura?"

"Your not wearing a shirt." She looked around as nearly every girl in the area took the opportunity to stare and sigh at the Hero of the Leaf Village. Naruto blushed as he realized she was right and him and Sakura quickly took their leave of absence.

* * *

Rykuga watched the whole thing.

"Guess it's time to report back to my master." Rykuga couldn't help but laugh at what was in store for Naruto.

"Let the games begin!"

AN: This was a short chapter to reintroduce Rykuga back into the story. I hope you all like it and please, feel free to leave a review. Enjoy!


	14. The Battle for Konoha

Naruto and Gaara stood gazing over what was now the Leaf Village. Their eyes reflected horror. The village, aside from the Hokage Mansion, was largely untouched. No, what held their gaze was the army of undead warriors waiting for them in front of the village.

"There has to be hundreds of thousands of them!" There were, easily. But they weren't ninja. Naruto relayed this info after he had sent down a group of shadow clones to test their strength. Many of the were soldiers were not ninja. Naruto and the K11, along with Gaara, rallied their troops to fight against the overwhelming numbers in front of them. It was then that the order to charge spread through the undead ranks. The sound of unsheathing weapons was almost deafening. The shinobi of Konoha and Suna shrank away from the battle cry of the enemy as they started to charge.

Naruto was about to speak again when something heavy smashed into him and a barrage of punishing blows landed on his face and chest. Between the hits, he recognized Rykuga's metallic face. He immediately felt an unbearable rage build up inside of him and he lashed out with a power he never knew he possessed. He struck Rykuga in the stomach and was rewarded with the sound of metal collapsing in. The blow sent Rykuga skyward and Naruto quickly followed. Rykuga countered by firing bullets of iron at Naruto, only for Naruto to heal almost instantly. Naruto began a violent assault on Rykuga as he was unable to defend himself.

"You've gotten better over the past few months Naruto but" Rykuga's body suddenly became covered in spikes "its not good enough!" Rykuga launched the spikes in all directions and a good amount became imbedded in Naruto. Suddenly Naruto went stiff as a massive lightning jutsu hit him, the iron conducting it through his body.

"Got you now!" Rykuga was slightly disappointed at how easy the fight was until Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke. Rykuga felt a chakra signiture behind him, moving fast. He turned only to be hit by a rasengan that resembled a shuriken. Rykuga felt pain everywhere and couldn't help but laugh. He LOVED pain so he fully embraced the attack.

Naruto was shocked to see Rykuga stand back up. Though his shock was quickly replaced by the hatred he felt for the man. He decided to end it and charged, rasengan in hand. It was only when Naruto entered Sage mode did Rykuga's smile falter.

"Did he just enter Sage mode while MOVING?!" The K13 was truely impressed by their comrade.

Rykuga felt a massive spike in the killer intent coming from Naruto. He was laughing, getting ready to counter, when he saw the rasengan turn red.

Naruto poured every last bit of hate into his attack. He wanted Rykuga dead. When he reached Rykuga he thrust the rasengan into his chest and was surprised as it actually began to melt through his chest. Naruto didn't stop the attack until he felt air touching his hand. As Rykuga tried to say something Naruto just slid him off his arm, completely disregarding his opponent's last words.

* * *

Nabitora had one hand in the air, collecting power, while his other hand was facing the horde of approaching enemies.

"Light Style: Light Cannon Jutsu!"

A massive beam of light shot forward, the size and power of it causing Nabitora to take a step back. He slowly swept the beam across the area ahead of him. Anything in his attacks path was instantly obliterated. He finally fell to one knee, breaking the jutsu. The soldiers under his command were shocked. He singlehandedly decimated 3 battalions! When they turned to their commander he passed out from exhaustion. His troops attacked as one carried him back to rest.

* * *

The Reaper had watched a massive beam appear. When it was gone even he admired the damage it did but that didn't matter right now. What he wanted was busy dying at the hands of Naruto. After he watched Naruto walk away he recovered Rykuga's body.

"This isn't over Naruto!" Rykuga screamed. He knew if the Reaper didn't collect his eye then his plan would fail. When he saw the Reaper appear before him he smiled. He was still smiling after the Reaper removed his Heavenly Eye of Insanity.

The Reaper was thrilled with his success. He was know whole again. With Rykuga's Heavenly Eye of Insanity, his eye was complete. He know had the Eye of the Reaper. He quickly set his plan in motion by throwing up 4 souls. He smiled thinking about the coming fight.

* * *

Naruto and Gaara were back to back. They were forced to fight off the enemy as they were slowly being overwhelmed. Everyone was taken by surprise when the ground beneath them split apart, giving Naruto and Gaara time to escape.

"Just in the knick of time." Sakura said to Naruto smiling.

"Thank you Sakura!" Both of the ninja before her nodded their heads before the fighting began again. Gaara quickly overpowered 5 soldiers and crushed them, effectively ending their undead lives. Naruto shocked everyone when he began to hurl his rasengan at his enemies.

"How...when did you learn to do that Naruto?"

Sakura was impressed by the power Naruto exuded.

"During our training. Hopefully I can thank the Sage one day for breaking the chakra seal." Naruto wasn't even breaking a sweat, a perk of having a broken chakra seal is having an infinite amount of chakra. Naruto was getting frustrated at the losses they were suffering.

"I'm ending this!" Naruto made a familiar hand sign.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

An army of Narutos appeared in front of the undead army. There was a brief moment of silence before the army of orange charged forward.

* * *

The Reaper watched a wave of orange crashed into the ranks of the undead soldiers. He was somewhat shocked to see the orange cutting through his army, rapidly approaching the gates of Konoha.

"Naruto Uzumaki huh." The Reaper was impressed with the kid's determination. But just because he was determined didn't mean he would win. The Reaper decided it was time to enter the fight. He knew right where to start.

* * *

"Fang over fang!"

Kiba and Akamaru were having a blast. Without needing to worry about ninjutsu, they could go all out. Akamaru's bark was enough of a warning for Kiba as he jumped backwards causing the 6 swords to miss their targets.

"Ready Akamaru?" Kiba suddenly heard Akamaru yelp in pain. When he looked over he barely had enough time to avoid a lethal blow. He suddenly felt an overwhelming pain in his shoulder. To his horror, he watched his left arm hit the ground. More pain and he felt himself falling as his left knee no longer was supported by the rest of his lower leg. He was screaming in pain as several spears pinned him to the ground, all non-fatal. The pain was starting to cause his vision to fail him. He watched as the Reaper approached him, knowing fully well that his life was over.

"Well" Kiba started choking on his own blood momentarily, "as long as Akamaru is fine..." In his dying moments Kiba was glad when Akamaru was seen with his comrades.

"Good bye everybody."

* * *

Naruto seen an image that made him throw up. One of his clones had seen the Reaper rip Kiba's head off with his bare hands.

"Whats wrong Naruto?" Sakura was busy treating a stab wound he had suffered during the fight.

"The...the Reaper...He...He killed Kiba." Naruto suddenly felt a pain in his chest. He knew this pain well. It was the pain he felt when he failed a friend.

"Naruto...I'm so sorry..." Sakura seen Naruto's hand grab his chest. She hated to see Naruto in pain. She also felt sad for the loss of a friend. Suddenly Naruto gasped. She watched the undead warriors sink into the ground as the the Reaper disappeared but that isn't what Naruto was looking at. She followed his gaze but was forced to look away.

Stretched across the gates of the Leaf was Kiba's headless body. They didn't need to look far for the head. It was staring at them, impaled on a spear.

* * *

AN: Here is another chapter. I would like to start recognizing everyone who reviews the story. I got this idea after reading the stories by RamenRenegade (AWESOME story btw) so i will begin to answer any reviews before the story so please, leave any questions or comments in the form of a review. For now I would like to recognize the following: guest (the narusaku one. Btw keep it up! Those reviews are creative and make me laugh), eiseah, and Mcawzome for your reviews. Enjoy!


	15. Rebuilding their Lives

It has been 3 months since the Battle of Konoha and the Reaper has virtually disappeared. Although the 5 Great Nations have been looking, he has remained unfound, much to the distress of the Kage. With an enemy that powerful on the loose, no one and was safe and everyone knew it. The Council of Konoha was convening to select the next Hokage. The debate was extremely heated as 2 people were selected and the Council had reached a stalemate. There was only one thing they could think of to break the tie: a duel.

* * *

_Beep beep beep_

Naruto rolled over trying to ignore the alarm. To his annoyance, the alarm continued to go off until he felt a pair of hands grab him.

"Naruto I swear to GOD if that alarm clock continues for 5 more seconds I'll throttle you with the wires inside of it!" That got his attention. In 2 seconds flat he was up and at the alarm. Naruto was fumbling over the off mechanism when he heard Sakura counting down.

'Fuck this' Naruto thought as he smashed the alarm.

"There, it's off." He was smiling grinning, proud that he got to live another day.

"You are an idiot idiot my blonde husband." Sakura sighed and rolled over in the bed.

"Hey Sakura aren't you gonna get up?" Naruto glanced at his wife as he got dressed.

"Nope. It's my day off." She mumbled as she started to drift off to sleep.

"What! That's not fair! Why don't I get a day off huh?" Naruto whined. He started to grin when she coveredd her head with the pillow.

"You do you idiot! We all do since we finished rebuilding the village. Now go make me breakfast." Sakura smiled as he started complaining, even as he went to the kitchen. After several minutes Naruto walked back into the room with a plate, still mumbling under his breath. Sakura rolled her eyes at this. She quickly reached up and pulled Naruto down into a kiss. When it finally ended Naruto had a foxy grin on his face.

"Oh I see. So THAT shuts you up." Sakura grinned as Naruto rapidly nodded his head and gave her the plate of food.

"Soooo Sakura. Is there going to...You know...Be a follow up to that kiss?" Naruto had a twinkle in his eyes as he awaited her answer.

"NARUTO! Can't you see I'm eating you horny bastard!" She gently slapped the back of his head. After several long minutes she added, "Now if you ask me tonight..."

Naruto couldn't wait for night to come!

* * *

Sasuke knocked on his blonde friend's door for the 7th time. He began sigh in frustration until Naruto threw open the door, catching the Uchiha completely off gaurd.

"What is it bastard? It's my day off." To anyone else, it would look like Naruto hated Sasuke but the 2 friends could easily se past the name calling.

"Who you calling bastard you idiot? Nevermind. The Council wants to see you next week and before you ask: no I have no idea why." After delivering his message, Sasuke turned and began walking back to the Uchiha complex only to run into Ino half way there. Sasuke used to find her annoying but thanks to several missions together (Tsunade playing Cupid) did he begin to appreciate her personality. He also couldn't help but admire her body, looking her over once or twice which did not escape Ino's attention. She also couldn't help but notice the small trickle of blood running from his nose.

"Hmmm like what you see?" Ino teased him by quickly spinning around. Her actions were rewarded with a red-faced Uchiha and the trickle turned into a solid flow.

"I...Um...Uh...You know..." Sasuke stammered as the perverted thoughts started coming in waves. This was not one of the high points of the day, that much was certain. That was until this happened:

"Hey Sasuke you wanna go catch a bite to eat?"

Sasuke took a deep breath to disspell the x-rated images he perverted mind had conjured, "Sure." He didn't trust his voice so he kept his answers short.

Ino was the happiest girl in the world.

* * *

A week flashed by, the only event worth mentioning was that Sasuke began dating Ino. Naruto and Sakura had a field day when they heard about that.

Currently Naruto stood before the Council as they spoke.

"Naruto Uzumaki we have called you here today to inform you that you have been one of two people elected to become the Seventh Hokage. Do you accept this election?"

Naruto could barely nod his confirmation. Him the Seventh Hokage? Then it hit him.

"Who is the other one?"

"Due to the unusual circumstances, the Council has agreed to holding a duel between you two. Is this alright with you?"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto could hardly contian his excitement. Just then the door opened and Naruto heard a familiar voice.

"Ok Naruto, let's do this!"

* * *

Naruto glared at Nabitora through toad eyes. They had been fighting in the Arena in front of the whole village. Naruto suddenly charged while creating 50 shadow clones. Due to his unlimited chakra he was able to gather nature energy while moving.

"Light Style: Light Cannon Jutsu!"

Every clone was destroyed by the massive beam. Nabitora hoped it finished their 2 hour fight because he was getting exhausted. Suddenly Naruto came crashing down on Nabitora.

"Planetary Rasengan!"

Nabitora was drilled deep into the ground by the multiple rotating rasengans. He groaned but gathered the rest of his chakra for one last attack.

"Light Style: Fury of the Sun God!"

The last thing Nabitora saw before darkness was Naruto falling.

Nabitora came to with the crowd going wild.

"Did I win?"

He recieved his answer, "Nope but damn that was an awesome technique!" Naruto smilied as he helped his friend up.

Naruto had won.

* * *

That night Naruto went home broken, bruised, and battered. Yet he still wore that rediculous grin. He was greeted by his wife damn near attacking him with hugs and kisses accompanied by a "you did it" here and there. He surprised Sakura by picking her up bridal style.

"Now to the victor" Naruto growled, "goes the spoils." He then carried a giggling Sakura into their room for a night of fun.

Sasuke walked beside Ino with his arm around her. They were walking through the park enjoying the night in eachother's company. They were both happy at the outcome of the match too. They had cheered for Naruto the whole time. Well Ino cheered to be more precise. Sasuke just gave the occasional "Go Naruto", much to Ino's frustration. But now they were enjoying their walk in the park.

Sasuke contemplated on how to proceed. He waanted to ask her but didn't know how. As he sat thinking, he started to get a troubled look on his face.

"What's wrong Sasuke?" Ino noticed the look on his face and was worried. He grunted his usual response.

Sasuke finally made his decision.

"Ino...Will you marry me?"

* * *

6 months have passed since the wedding between Sasuke Uchiha and Ino Yamanaka and the two of them have never been happier. Naruto has never seen the Uchiha smile much but every time he seen Ino he couldn't help but smile. Ino was also showing the signs of her pregnancy. Sakura was in the same boat as Ino. The husbands couldn't be more proud but when their wives got angry, Naruto and Sasuke would disappear from their houses and reappear as far away as possible. The 2 of them had basically become brothers and due to that, Ino and Sakura became close too. Today was an 'I'm gonna kill my husband' day and boy were they pissed!

In a nearby alley the Seventh Hokage and the last Uchiha sat panting, occasionally checking to see if the Two Rampagers of Konoha were after them. Every time they heard their wives nicknames they couldn't help but laugh at the truth of the statement. Naruto my be the Hokage but he would ALWAYS run from his angry wife. Just as they were about to relax a 2 voices made their blood run cold.

"Oh Naruto, I found you." Ino mimicked Sakura's call except she directed it at Sasuke. Just as the 2 were about to run Sakura yelled what both her and Ino were thinking, "If you try and make your pregnant wives chase you around, I will personally send the ANBU Black Ops after you to drag your sorry asses back just so I can pulverize you!" That stopped them as they both slowly turned around.

"Hehe hey Sakura you weren't serious right?" Naruto gulped as the 2 angry wives cracked their knuckles.

"Well Naruto it was nice knowing you." Sasuke said as the fists started to fall.

* * *

Naruto sat in his office at the Hokage Mansion with Sakura treating the wounds she inflicted earlier.

"Naruto I need to talk to you." Emerald eyes met 2 blue ones. She had to shake her head so she wouldn't get lost in his eyes.

"What is it Sakura? Your not mad still are you?" Naruto nervously fidgeted in his chair. She had to chuckle at her thoughts.

'The mighty Seventh Hokage is cowering beneath me. Oh I like this.'

"No Naruto I'm not. Its about what we should name the child. I was thinking Hotaru, what do you think?" Sakura watched as Naruto visibly relaxed.

"Yeah Sakura. I think Hotaru is a good name." Naruto gathered his wife in his arms and they sat looking out the window together.

* * *

"Sasuke what should we name the twins?" Ino glanced at her husband as he nursed his bruises.

"Misaku and RIku." Ino nodded her approval at the names and went back to cooking. The Uchiha complex was going to show life once again.

* * *

AN: Hi everybody! As a request from a friend (it only added to my own ideas haha) I decided to pair Sasuke and Ino. Next chapter will be another time lapse but things will soon pick up. Also sorry about how abrupt the fight was, I'm not the greatest at drawing out fight scenes. But otherwise please enoy!


	16. The Counter-move

"I need you to go to the Leaf Village and obliterate it. Leave no survivors. But take heed, you will be facing the Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki." The Mizukage looked at his most trusted ninja bowing before him.

"Yes my lord. They shall fall before the might of the Hidden Mist Village!" With that, Akiko Daruma's mission had had begun.

Two black eyes watched the retreating figure, 'you better not fail me' the Mizukage thought.

* * *

Sakura awoke enveloped in warmth. She cuddled closer to the source until her back hit a solid object. She lazily looked back to see her blonde hair husband wrap his hands around her, causing the amount of heat to skyrocket. Just then the alarm went off. She wanted to avoid him waking so she hit the alarm, destroying the table in the process.

"Damn it Sakura. If you want me to stay in I'm sure that I could take a day off." Naruto had been awake the whole time and he actually planned to take today off. The paper work can go a day without him. He had already made plans with the Council to have Nabitora step in for a day. Now he had the day with his family.

"Now where is our son?" With perfect timing Hotaru came bursting through the door to leap onto the bed, his emerald eyes full of mischievous gleam.

"Mommy, daddy hide me, hurry!" Hotaru quickly jumped under the blanket as his parents heard a knocking on the door. Naruto dragged himself out of bed and made his way to the door. The sight that greeted him caused him to double over in laughter. Sasuke stood in the doorway with a variety of different paints staining his close. Naruto stepped aside to let his friend in and, still laughing, went to gather his son. When he returned Hotaru took one look at Sasuke and turned to his father.

"Daddy you are a traitor!" He then turned to his "Uncle" and began to apologize when Naruto stopped him.

"Why are you apologizing? I brought you out here to tell you how proud I was!" They both broke out in renewed laughter at Sasuke's expense when Sakura's voice rang out from the room.

"Sorry Sasuke." The 2 Uzumakis said, still grinning. Sasuke remembered all of the pranks Naruto pulled when they were kids. Now it was like another Naruto had emerged from the ashes of the first. God have mercy on Konoha! Sasuke turned to leave before he muttered, "Like father like son." The Uchiha walked away with a smile on his face.

* * *

"Hey Ino do you have something to get out the stains?" Sasuke held out his ruined clothes to his wife. She just shook her head at the state of his clothes.

"Let me guess: Hotaru?" Sasuke nodded. Ino just chuckled at the mischief the young Uzumaki caused. Even then Hotaru was Misaku and Riku's best friend, besides for the hawk Sasuke had gotten for Riku. Riku had named the bird Yuki and now the 2 were inseparable, even in the academy.

"So where are our little 'monsters'?" On cue a hawk swooped down and pulled Sasuke's head band over his eyes.

"Damn bird!" Sasuke attempted to move the headband back into place only to hear 2 sets of laughter. When he could see again he noticed the 2 kids in front of them.

"Haha we SO got you!" Sasuke was confused until he tried to move. At that point the strings around his legs were pulled together and he fell flat on his face. Everyone broke out into laughter, including Sasuke.

Outside, a figure watched the whole thing happen.

'It's a shame that's all going to end soon' Akiko thought to himself. He moved quietly throughout the village waiting for night to come before he faced the stand-in Hokage. He needed to be completely prepared for the fight ahead.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke sat with their respective wives as their kids played a game in the park. It was getting late so they decided to go their seperate ways. Meanwhile at the Hokage Mansion 2 figures now stood on the roof.

"Why are are you here? You should know this won't end well. Your in the middle of an enemy village." Nabitora glared at the man before him, Akiko Daruma otherwise known as the Knight of Darkness. Nabitora knew he was in for a fight as he began to summon up chakra for a signal flare to warn the Village. Before he could a bout of taijutsu erupted between the two combatants. Nabitora quickly ducked a roundhouse kick and swiped the feet out from beneath Akiko. Suddenly Nabitora shot Naruto kunai made of light at Akiko only for a box of metal to enclose Akiko.

The 2 men fought well into the night. Finally they broke away both panting heavily.

"Well Nabitora I am impressed you can keep up with me. I guess that is why you were able to compete for the title of Hokage. But it's not good enough!" With that several chains shot out of the ground and binded to Nabitora's arms.

"Darkness Style: Dark Fusion Jutsu!"

Nabitora watched as a river of darkness broke off of the night sky, much to his shock, and began to pour into Nabitora's open mouth. Everything began to get progressively darker as more and more of the night fused with Nabitora's very essence.

"Your mastery of light is astonishing but lets see what happens when darkness is thrown into the mix." With that said Akiko disappeared in a swirl of darkness. Nabitora went limp and began to fall, only to find a set of hands holding him up.

"Oh god no. Nabitora I'm so sorry I wasn't here I'm..." Nabitora smiled in knowing his friend had found him in time. He passed out before Naruto could finish his sentence.

* * *

"My Lord" Akiko bowed before continuing, "I was unable to destroy Konoha due to Naruto finding the tags but I was able to to severely hurt their military power by eliminating Nabitora." The Mizukage turned in the chair, allowing the the Total Transformation Jutsu to disappear. The place Mei once sat was now occupied by the Reaper. Unknown to the rest of the world, the Reaper had long overthrown and imprisoned the former Mizukage. He chuckled at the thought that her prison was inside the Realm of the Sealed. It was only accessible by using the Eye of the Reaper.

"No you didn't. Although you attacked Nabitora, he was able to survive due to the interruption of your jutsu. I want you to go back and finish him off. Do not bother to return if you fail this time!" With that the Reaper reactivated his jutsu and sent Akiko on his way.

'Prepare yourself Naruto, it is now just a matter of time!' The Reaper thought with a smile.

* * *

AN: Well here it is, another chapter is out. Please would you favorite the story and review if you like, I would love to hear your thoughts as they are a huge motivator. Also sorry about not posting the review responses. I just haven't been able to recently but I'll try my best to remember next time. Enjoy!


	17. Life in the Leaf

AN: Hello everyone! This is a special chapter to introduce the new Uchihas and the new Uzumaki. I also would like to thank everyone for the continued support! This being my first story, it helps motivate me when I see the reviews. Also recently I've run into the notorious Writers Block! But have no fear I will continue to write the story, I just ask that you please bear with me as the breaks between chapters may start to fluctuate. I will still try to upload at least twice a week. Please keep up the reviews and enjoy the chapter dedicated to the readers. Enjoy!

* * *

Mornings in the Uzumaki household tended to start with Naruto getting drug out of bed, throwing a fit like his 6 year old son.

'Imagine that, the great and mighty Naruto Uzumaki behaving like a child.' Sakura sighed internally internally as she continued to drag her husband out of bed.

"Damn it woman let me fucking sleep!" Naruto immediately regretted saying that as Sakura's head ticked around to face him.

"I'M SORRY!" *BAM*. Everyone nearby watched their Hokage go soaring through the sky.

"That's a new distance record!"

"Must've pissed off Lady Sakura..."

"Again?"

"And there goes the Orange Flash of Konoha haha!"

No one was surprised by the event. Even when Sakura calmly walked down the street to retrieve her twitching husband's body.

"Oh shit. Lord Hokage has done it this time!"

"What do you mean?"

"She's calm. It's REALLY bad when she's calm. Better clear out!"

Again Naruto's form went soaring back into the house, leaving another hole. Today was going to be a long day for the Hokage.

* * *

Sasuke watched his friend's form go rocketing over his house that morning which elicited a sigh from him.

"Baka when will he learn?" Sasuke had become accustomed to seeing his blonde friend "flying" in the morning. In fact, it was the same with most citizens of Konoha. Sasuke went back to his breakfast. He decided he would check on his Hokage AFTER Sakura was done.

'Poor Naruto. I don't think he understands WHO he married.' Sasuke chuckled at his thoughts, which were interrupted when his sleepy eyed children came down to eat.

"Hey you two. Since it's the weekend I've decided to teach you a new jutsu!" The Uchiha house was filled with the cheers of two excited kids.

'Well maybe Naruto will be fine without me...'

Naruto was terrified. One minute he was sleeping and the next he was soaring through the sky.

'What did I say now?' He currently was back in his house and was watching his wife approach with an evil glint in her eye.

"I'm gonna die." Naruto was completely prepared for the finishing blow that never came. He glanced up to see his son pulling his mom away from him. Upon seeing her son, Sakura instantly scooped him up and forgot all about what he said to her. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead as she walked away carrying Hotaru. The child giving his father the thumbs up. Naruto grinned at his son's antics that may have just saved his life.

'Like father, like son.' Naruto thought cheerfully as he got up to go eat breakfast. He sat next to his son and they both were happily munching away on their eggs and bacon and enjoying the time they got as a family. Ever since Naruto became the Hokage the time spent between Naruto and Sakura had decreased. But ever since Hotaru was born Naruto had tried to spend time with his family. He also took it upon himself to make sure his son surpassed even himself. Hotaru was considered a prodigy in his own right. He already had a wind affinity along with a water and lightning affinity, the lightning affinity was thanks to Sasuke and Kakashi. Sasuke's son was quite adept with fire and lightning jutsu while his daughter had water and earth affinities. Yamato had taken an interest in training her. Those 3 children were quite likely to surpass their parents quite easily at this rate.

* * *

Nabitora sat in complete darkness. Long ago had it overwhelmed the light inside of him and now it was dark. He realized that to come back, he would need to find that light before it was gone forever.

* * *

AN: Sorry guys for the very short chapter. I have been encountering some SERIOUS writers block! But I promise that the next chapter will be back to the regular length. Just consider this a filler haha. Well please enjoy!


	18. Insanity

Message from the Author: Hey guys. Sorry about the extra short chapter last time. I'll try and make it up with this chapter.

**Responses:**

**meee: That is a very good question in regards to Kurama. I have yet to decide what to do there but in regards to the 3 way finisher that would be AWESOME! I'll try to think of something for that. Please continue to enjoy the story.**

**PS: You should consider making an account for the website.**

**McAwzome: Haha...No. Just because you love Riku doesn't mean I'm going to make him suddenly OP as hell haha.**

**That's it for responses. Please leave a review and I will put my response up on the next chapter. If you have any ideas or suggestions feel free to leave a review or PM me and I'll see what I can do.**

* * *

Hotaru glared at his opponent with absolute focus. He had just graduated the Academy along with Misaku and Riku at the young age of 9. They were all considered the next prodigies just like their parent. The teamwork the showed was also absolutely incredible and they were perfectly able to complement each other's techniques, much to the pride of their parents. Now it was their turn to pass the same test their parents had to: the infamous Bell Test administered by the one and only Kakashi Hatake.

"You guys are slowing down. Getting tired already?" Kakashi chuckled and reached into his pouch causing all 3 of the kids in front of him to jump slightly.

"Well at least your alert." Kakashi proceeded to withdraw the orange book he was so commonly seen reading. Riku immediately began shouting at Kakashi who just shrugged off all of his insults.

"Hey you closet pervert! Don't take us lightly or you'll regret it you freaking cyclops!" Riku threw several kunai and shuriken at him. Hotaru imbued his weapons with his wind chakra as they flew and hit their target.

"Alright we-"

"got him?" Kakashi finished for, kunai to the back of Riku and Hotaru's respective heads. They both gulped as the point pressed against their heads. Hotaru glanced at Riku to see him grinning. before Hotaru could comment on it a flash of feathers flew by and pulled Kakashi's orange book out of his pouch. Kakashi made a mad grab for it but the hawk swooped out of the way.

"Good job Yuki!" Riku was grinning widely at his childhood companion. Yuki was abnormally large for a hawk and since it grew up side by side with Riku a strange event occurred: Yuki learned how to use jutsu. Of course he can't make hand signs due to being a hawk, but at Riku's command he is able to form the jutsu. It's due to this ability that Riku and Yuki are a formidable force together and due to his combat status, Yuki has also been seen adapting quite quickly to combat situations.

"Now Kakashi, give use the bells or we burn the book!" Riku was ecstatic. Here they were beating Kakashi Hatake the Copy Ninja at the meager age of 9! His grin soon turned to a look of horror as Kakashi smiled and pulled a scroll out. From this scroll he produced another book exactly like the one they had. Yuki glared at Kakashi and ignited the book in his claws. Suddenly Misaku, Riku's sister, leaped out of a tree burning through hand signs.

"Earth Style: Soft Earth Jutsu!"

She slammed her hands into the ground. The earth under Kakashi immediately broke into a fine, smooth powder-like grains. She already finished the next series of hand signs and she stuck her hands into the fine earth.

"Water Style: Whirlpool Jutsu!"

The ground became quicksand and began to rapidly rotate which caused Kakashi to rapidly sink into the ground, disappearing from sight. Misaku turned towards the boys with a crooked grin.

"Now THAT'S how it's done boys!" Right as she finished that statement a hand emerged from the ground and pulled Misaku down by her ankle until only her head was showing. Kakashi stood before them with his book in his hand.

"I think it's time to end this." Kakashi formed a hand sign and they fell under a deep genjutsu. Just as Kakashi was about to continue reading he heard a jingle. He jerked his head around to see the three of them standing behind him grinning, a bell in each of their hands.

"Your right. It IS time to end this." Hotaru had the same grin his father always had. Kakashi lowered his head in defeat. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino all emerged from the trees. Naruto and Sakura were beaming along with Ino. Sasuke had a slight grin as they all congratulated their children on the successful exercise.

"Well Kakashi, I would say they passed. What about you?" Naruto glanced at Kakashi to see him smiling under his mask. He nodded his approval and the three kids began to cheer.

Team 7 was back and ready for action!

* * *

Akiko Daruma was having a really bad day. The past few years he has been assigned with killing important figures within the hierarchy of the Elemental Nation. So far he had caused a complete collapse in the government of the Lightning Nation, forcing the Raikage to mobilize his shinobi forces against the extremist Lightning Lord's samurai forces. Needless to say that an all out civil war was in progress which allowed him to slip out of the nation. His next target was the Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand. Sadly for him, said Kazekage was now glaring down on him, the sand swirling around him. Akiko glanced at his missing leg, remembering how the sand literally CRUSHED it right off of his body.

"Akiko Daruma I will give you one last chance, surrender or die." Gaara was ready to kill this man. He knew this man was responsible for the civil war in the Land of Lightning and he was not going to let that happen here.

"Ok, ok you got me I surrender. I only have one request." Gaara raised an eyebrow to signify that he could continue.

"I want to see Nabitora of the Hidden Leaf Village."

* * *

The Reaper watched Gaara capture Akiko and shook his head.

"I guess if you want something done you need to do it yourself. Although it will make it easier with Nabitora coming here."

'RELEASE ME!'

The Reaper shook his head to clear his thought. He silently cursed the voice in his head.

"This noise better stop or I'm going to need to kill someone!" The Reaper couldn't wait for him to appear.

* * *

Naruto, Nabitora, and Sakura were gazing at the walls of Suna. They had came here partly due to a request from Gaara and partly because Naruto needed a break from all of the damn paperwork. Naruto was very excited to see his friend and fellow Kage again.

They finally arrived at the inn and got to there rooms. Naruto immediately flopped onto the bed and groaned.

"That feels soooo good." Sakura suddenly got a very...well...interesting idea and started to grin mischievously.

"Hey Naruto. I have an idea."

"What is it?"

"Well since our son is in Konoha and were alone I think we should have" at this point she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "some personal time."

Naruto was already locking the door as she finished the statement.

"Nabitora should be fine without us."

* * *

-3 Days later-

Naruto couldn't stop crying.

He held his childhood friend in his arms, a massive hole in his stomach.

**-2 hours ago-**

Naruto and Nabitora were in the Kazekage's office. Again. Akiko had finally cracked and told them his assignment to collapse the governments of every Elemental Nation so his master would be able to launch a massive invasion during the chaos of the ensuing civil wars.

During the debrief in Gaara's office they heard a noise and as Naruto went to inspect it a massive sword, with a Sand shinobi impaled on it, crashed through the door. Naruto froze as he stared deep into the Eye of the Reaper. Nabitora watched as Naruto collapsed from a massive genjutsu. The Reaper walked over Naruto's immobile form and pointed his sword at Nabitora.

"Nabitora Izumara your time has come." The Reaper charged at Nabitora only for him to raise both of his hands and shout:

"Light Style: Light Cannon Jutsu!"

"Darkness Style: Dark Whirlpool Beam!"

His signature Light Cannon began to fire when he put the 2 together.

"Combination: Illuminating Beam of Darkness!"

Down in the streets everyone watched in awe as a massive swirl of light and dark shot out of the Kazekage's office, a figure impaled at the end of it.

"Gaara stay back. He's after me so there is no need for you to step in. I'm sorry in advance for the damage that may occur but I need you to stay here to keep an eye on my Hokage. He is a close friend of mine and I would be devastated if something happened to him." Gaara just nodded and went to check on Naruto as Nabitora leapt after the Reaper.

Nabitora fought the Reaper for a full hour before the Reaper began to try and kill civilians saying that he would break Nabitora one way or another. As he attempted to decapitate a mother in front of her child Nabitora lunged in the way and for the second time in his life, there was an intense pain in his stomach and everything went dark.

**-Present-**

Naruto felt someone's hand on his shoulder but he didn't care. He gently set Nabitora's body on the ground. He never heard Sakura call out that he was still alive. Instead he let out what could only be described as a feral roar and formed a Rasengan in his hand.

"Come back you BASTARD!" Naruto hurled the Rasengan at the Reaper. The Reaper couldn't even react as it smashed into his back. He had no time to recover as his opponent was already on him delivering rage-filled punches to his face and chest. The ground began to cave in under the intensity of the hits and the Reaper was beginning to see doubles as his vision became unfocused. Naruto suddenly formed a Tailed Beast Bomb in his hand and, before the Reaper could react, smashed it into his head.

Naruto only stopped his attack when he heard a familiar voice say his name. His head snapped towards the sound and he seen his friend, Gaara, staring at him.

"Naruto it's over. He's dead." Before Naruto could even calm down they heard a dark laugh behind them.

"I have to say blondie, you have become quite strong but-" He was cut off by a sharp pain in his head. Naruto and Gaara's eyes widened at the sight before them. The Reaper had a massive bulb of skin beginning to grow off of his head. The skin slowly took on the shape of an arm which began to pull itself off of his head. The Reaper realized that whatever just happened had drained his stamina dangerously low. He decided to retreat and formed a seal. The ground under the Reaper opened and thousands of skeletal hands pulled him under.

The arm on the ground began to twitch when suddenly blood began to spray out. The bones in the arm began to grow out and eventually took on the shape of a skeleton. The veins began to grow and muscle began to cover the skeleton, only allowing the two stunned Kages to catch a glimpse of organs beginning to form. finally the skin began to stretch and cover the body. The figure stood up and turned his hate filled eyes towards Naruto.

"It can't be..."

Rykuga Azu stood and announced: "Insanity has returned to the world!"

* * *

AN: Well here is the next chapter. Hopefully this makes up for the filler I put you guys through (Sorry again). Please leave a review or PM me to let me know how you like the story. Also I would like to add that I'm currently looking for a beta that would be able to catch errors and/or help me with extending the length of chapters. Please PM me if your interested. Enjoy!


	19. Retreat!

"Insanity has returned to the world!"

Naruto and Gaara looked on in horror at the scene before them. As soon as Rykuga had made his announcement several teams of Sand shinobi closed in on him.

"No wait don't-" Naruto didn't have time to finish his statement. Rykuga looked around and smiled. As the shinobi closed in Rykuga's skin became metal and bullets shot out from every pore on his body. The shinobi fell, their bodies riddled with bullet holes, at Rykuga's feet. He began to laugh and started kicking and stomping the bodies of the fallen ninja.

"YOU THINK YOU FUCKS CAN KILL ME HUH?! HUH!" Rykuga shouted this between stomps and kicks. Naruto felt a spike in killer intent. It was so high he actually shuffled away from the source, only to realize the source of the killer intent was his old friend Gaara. The sand was swirling around him so fast that the buildings began to form small cuts upon contact.

"Gaara you need to calm down. I know-"

"Shut Up Naruto. My job as the Kazekage was simple: protect the Village and its people yet I wasn't able to protect these people. So now I will remember their names through spilling the blood of Rykuga." As soon as Gaara finished this statement Rykuga smirked and picked up a fleeing civilian. He glanced at Gaara and then back at the civilian before he did the unexpected: he hugged her. Naruto was stunned and confused.

'Why would he do that' Naruto's train of thought was cut off when Rykuga grew spikes out, impaling the poor woman right before their eyes. Gaara lost it.

* * *

He couldn't see anything besides the woman impaled on the spikes. He imagined the suffering her family would now go through all because of this one man. At that thought the world turned red. The sand rushed forward and severed Rykuga's arm before he knew what was happening. Rykuga merely laughed and shocked the 2 Kage by sprouting a new arm. Even then Gaara did not let up his attack as the speed of his sand rose dramatically. Naruto watched in shock as the Kazekage _disappeared!_

He caught a glimpse of his friend's robes as he engaged Rykuga in taijutsu.

'Gaara NEVER uses taijutsu!' Naruto's thought were cut off once again by Sakura's voice behind him.

"Naruto, I've sent a messenger hawk back to Konoha asking for reinforcements. We need to help Suna hold out until they arrive." She had noticed Gaara's fight but realized that the best way to help him would be to check the city for infiltrators. Naruto must have had the same thoughts as he formed a very familiar hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Hundreds of Narutos appeared and began to spread out looking for intruders. Sakura barely registered the flash of orange beside her when Naruto used a jutsu that hadn't been seen in over 2 decades.

'Did he just...did he just use-'

* * *

Rykuga was surprised at Gaara's sudden move when he closed in for a taijutsu fight. He was even more surprised that Gaara was easily holding his own in said fight. But never in a thousand years would he expect the next event to happen. In a sudden flash of orange, Naruto appeared next to Rykuga and smashed a Giant Rasengan straight into his face. Rykuga found himself forcefully entering and exiting buildings as he was soaring through the air. Little did he know that his thoughts were the same as Miss Uzumaki's were.

"Flying Thunder God!"

Naruto Uzumaki had finally mastered Minato Namikaze's signature jutsu and it couldn't have been at a more inconvenient time for Rykuga. Suddenly Naruto appeared beside him again and delivered a wicked kick to his kneecap, effectively snapping it in half. Rykuga couldn't have been more happy that he perfectly controlled his body as he began to move his knee back into place so he could fuse the bones back together. Still though, he couldn't help but wonder something.

"How did you appear here? I never seen a kunai get thrown and I know there isn't a seal on my body, so how?"

"I have done what my father could not: I have completely mastered his jutsu to the point of not needing his seals. I can teleport anywhere I can see without them." Naruto purposefully left out the part of needing to have seals to teleport to the places he couldn't see. Before Rykuga could comment on this, a fist connected with his face. As he began yet another session of air time he barely caught a glimpse of pink hair followed by a phrase he had never heard the pinkette say before.

"Shannaro!"

* * *

Naruto watched as Rykuga became nothing but a dot on the horizon. Naruto plastered a huge grin on his face as he turned to Sakura.

"Hey Sakura I think that's a new distance record. Also I haven't heard you say Shannaro for a LONG time." Naruto's grin faltered when he seen a figure appear behind Sakura.

Sakura was smiling when she suddenly felt someone's breath on her ear.

"You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" Rykuga's hand turned into a massive blade and he attempted to stab Sakura.

Sakura closed her eyes as she waited for her unavoidable doom. The pain never came and when she opened her eyes she noticed a shield of sand in front of her. Suddenly she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and pull her away.

"Are you ok Sakura?" Naruto did nothing to hide his concern for her. She nodded her head and they both watched Gaara appear in a swirl of sand. Suddenly Naruto felt a massive amount of pain in his head. He went down on both knees as Sakura crouched next to him.

"What's wrong Naruto?" This time it was Sakura's turn to be concerned.

"All of my clones just dispelled and the information is overwhelming." His eyes suddenly went wide as he looked at the images from his clones. "How?"

"You remember when I 'died' here?" Naruto nodded his head. "Well I never actually died. Instead I let your attacks SPREAD my cells around throughout the desert and since I have perfect control of my body, I was able to do it." Rykuga finished his explanation with a grin on his face.

Gaara and Sakura were confused until Naruto said something. "There is an army of Rykuga clones invading Suna. We need to retreat."

* * *

Several hours had passed and Gaara had commenced the evacuation of all Sand civilians to Konoha. The Suna shinobi stayed behind to buy time for the fleeing refugees but they were slowly being cut down by the hail of bullets and blades originating from the advancing army of Rykuga's clones.

"Lord Gaara the civilians have all been evacuated as you ordered. What are your new orders?" The shinobi was clearly fatigued by the fight and had a haunted look in his eyes. There was no doubt in Gaara's mind that this man had seen many of his friends die today. He hated to do this but their next steps were critical in ensuring the survival of his people.

"I need you to gather as many troops as you can in 5 minutes and escort the civilians to Konoha. I will rally the troops and hold out for as long as we can. Use the time we buy you and once you are at least one hour away send a messenger hawk to me and I will issue the order to fall back." The shinobi hesitated before he nodded and set out on his task. Gaara then turned to his long-time friend and fellow Kage.

Naruto you have done so much for me but I have one more favor to ask." Naruto plunged an exploding kunai into the chest of a Rykuga clone before he teleported to Gaara to hear his request. "Fall back. I need you to ensure the safety of my people by leading your reinforcements to link up with the fleeing civilians. Don't argue please. Just go."

Naruto nodded but placed a seal on Gaara saying, "If you don't catch up by tonight then I'll be right by you to help." Gaara nodded to Naruto and Naruto grabbed Sakura telling her the plan. Gaara knew he probably would be dead when Naruto arrived but if he said that then Konoha would likely lose another great Hokage. As Naruto retreated Gaara shed a single tear knowing that this would likely be the last time he seen his friend.

"Shinobi of Suna!" Gaara's voice boomed across the Village, causing his ninja to listen. "I know that you have suffered greatly today and I know that you are tired but I have one more task for all of you. I will stand by your side to protect the lives of your loved ones as they flee to Konoha but I can't hope to buy enough time by myself. So I ask you all, not as your Kazekage but as your friend, if you will stand beside me to give our people a fighting chance. WHO'S WITH ME?!" Gaara's speech was met with cheers.

"CHARGE!"

* * *

Kakashi sped ahead of the Konoha forces, determined not to lose another of his precious people. He was so distracted by his thoughts that he nearly fell off of the branch he was on when a flash of orange appeared directly ahead of him. Naruto and Sakura stood before them all and Kakashi noticed that Naruto was holding a very injured Nabitora in his arms. Shikuke immediately stepped forward to relieve Naruto of his burden and started off back to Konoha.

"Alright guys we have a new objective. We are to meet up with the refugees from Suna and help Temari escort them back to Konoha. The Kazekage is expected to meet up with us by nightfall. Ok everyone move out!" Naruto didn't know why but he had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

'Gaara...you better not die!'

* * *

Gaara caught the wounded messenger hawk before it hit the ground. He unfurled the scroll to read the very simple message.

_You can fall back now._

Gaara sent out the order to his remaining troops and the Sand shinobi began their retreat. When Gaara was clear of the village he turned around to do his final act at his home. The sand from the desert all around the Village Hidden in the Sand rose up and crashed down on Suna. Gaara approached the massive mountain of sand and placed his hands on it.

"Pyramid of the Gods!"

The desert began to drain as all of the sand was pulled into the pyramid. when he was done, Gaara staggered away from the site leaving behind a pyramid that would easily rival any mountains.

-Later that night-

A hand emerged from the pyramid which was soon followed by a figure dragging itself out. If anyone had been listening, they would have heard the bone-chilling laugh that echoed through the desert.

* * *

Nabitora awoke to the sight of the man that had tried to kill him. Only this time noticed a Leaf symbol on his headband. He looked down to see the man grinning.

"What are you doing here Akiko?" Nabitora's voice was filled with confusion.

"What no one told you?" Nabitora just shook his head. "Your Hokage decided to give me another chance. First things first though, sorry for trying to kill you." Akiko had a sheepish grin on his face and Nabitora couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Now for the second thing. I am here to see my new team mate wake up."

Nabitora just smiled.

"Welcome to Konoha."

* * *

AN: Here is another chapter of the story. Yes it's a little bit of deja vu from a previous chapter but hey at least another Kage didn't die. Also I would greatly appreciate it if you would leave a review of your favorite part of the chapter so I could use that to improve my writing. Well anyways enjoy the chapter!


	20. Picking up the Pieces

**Review Responses:**

**McAwzome: My my, that is quite the wishlist. Don't you think that would make Riku very OP if I granted that wishlist? I will say this though: one or two of the items on said list may just come true. Also I think I will give Riku s sword. Can't have him relying solely on Yuki can we haha.**

**meee: Happy to see you reviewing again! Hopefully this becomes a habit as you have given me some good input! I'm glad to see that you liked those two scenes, although I'm slightly surprised that you liked the Gaara moment considering I've never been good with speeches. Hopefully you like this chapter, now that your headache is gone (I hope).**

* * *

'500...' Gaara still couldn't comprehend the number.

"Did...did I hear you correctly when you said...500?" Konkuro nodded dejectedly as he confirmed his brother's fears. Gaara felt a lump form in his throat and had to wait before he spoke.

"I...I failed them...I failed..." Gaara was nearly inconsolable. He felt someone put a hand on his shoulder. He refused to look at his longtime friend, Naruto Uzumaki, and instead he kept muttering the same thing: "I failed."

"No Gaara you never failed them. They knew the risks of becoming a shinobi and they gladly laid down their lives to fight next to you. If anything, their sacrifices secured the safety of your people." Naruto couldn't stand seeing his freind, and fellow Kage, in the condition he was in now. It hurt more than any kunai od jutsu ever would.

"500 NARUTO, 5-0-0! OUT OF SUNA'S ARMY OF 3,000 ONLY 500 SURVIVED...how...how does the ONE PERSON whose job is to protect everyone...how do they fail in protecting 2,500 of their own?!" For the first time since Naruto met him, Gaara felt completely and utterly helpless.

He felt like a failure.

* * *

-4 months later-

'Shit...Where is he?' Hotaru frantically looked all around him. 'Left? Right? Behind? Above? Bel-' Hotaru's thoughts were cut off when Kakashi came rushing out of the ground. Hotaru realized he was in trouble when he stared directly into the Sharingan eye. 'Shit shit shit shit! I am SO glad my mom is good at genjutsus!' Hotaru quickly released it only to find 4 Kakashis all around him, each with a kunai to his throat.

Kakashi grinned as he violently cut his students throat, only to be rewarded with the distinctive "poof" of a Shadow Clone dispelling.

Hotaru glanced at his comrades and nodded, holding up 5 fingers, 2 on his left and 3 on his right, which caused his team mates to start grinning. They all set out towards their assigned positions, mischief glinting in their eyes.

Kakashi sat waiting. He was listening for a certain sound, a sound that should appear at any time now. So he waited...and waited...and waited. Eventually even the Copy Ninja gets bored and, out of habit, he found his hand holding his perverted book. Of course THAT'S when he feels the heat from the Grand Fireball as it whizzed by his head, which caused his Sharingan to follow its' movements. That was the moment of dread for him as he felt a weight suddenly disappear from his hand.

"Oh for the love of-" He was cut off by said book smashing into his face with unimaginable strength, sending Kakashi flying through the woods with only one thought: 'SHE TAUGHT HIM THAT!?'

Kakashi's own thoughts were interrupted mid-flight as he felt another mind (and body) numbing blow smash him several feet into the ground.

"You 3 might as well just close this hole up right now because if I keep training with you this will soon be my destination, not the hospital." Kakashi continued his grumbling but he also couldn't hide the proud smile he wore on his masked face.

'Boy did they grow up fast.'

* * *

Team 7 stood before the Hokage all wondering why they were called to this "meeting", if it could even be called that. Just as Hotaru and Riku began to set up a prank for the Hokage, there was a bright orange flash that reveled Naruto nervously running his hand through his hair and grinning.

"Sorry about being late guys. Gaara really wants to get better at his taijutsu haha. But seriously, the way he mixes that sand into his taijutsu his absolutely brilliant!"

Team 7 just shook their heads at the Hokage and sighed.

"You know dad, if you're gonna be late at least give us a heads up please." Hotaru had been ready to run a marathon around Konoha. He couldn't help but be excited because today was their first C-rank mission.

"Yeah Uncle Naruto! What Hotaru said!" The Uchiha siblings had perfect timing on everything. That amazing skill tended to carry over to many things though, their favorite use of the skill was (sadly) chewing out their "Uncle" Naruto. Naruto just grinned and ran his hand through his hair. He REALLY didn't want to do this now but he had no other choice. Boy was this gonna suck.

"Team 7," That got their attention. Naruto almost never used proper identification. "I regret to inform you but your mission has been canceled due to new information we recently received it seems as if-"

"WHAT!" The sound of all three genin shouting in the enclosed space hurt his ears, a lot. "How could you-" Naruto interrupted his son by slamming his fist on the table.

"SHUT UP! Now like I was saying, this new information places a missing Konoha shinobi at the scene of the mission which means he is the cause of these problems. Normally I would just double-up the genin teams but this particular ninja is none other than Rykuga Azu. He is an S-rank missing ninja and has a bounty on his head from every Elemental Nation and several smaller nations. This total bounty amounts to about 350 million. He is wanted for the assassination of several Lords and is also wanted for the Invasion of Suna. That is just the tip of the iceberg. So you are NOT taking this mission. Period. I will find you another but for now you have a paid week off. Use it as you see fit. Dismissed."

With that done, the genin left his office muttering the whole way out. Naruto then turned his attention to Kakashi.

"Kakashi instead you will be the leader of the new mission. This is a long term operation so you will be gone for quite a while, I'm afraid. Your team consists Shikamaru Nara, Temari, Hinata Hyuuga, and Asuma Sarutobi. Gaara has also volunteered, quite adamantly, to be placed on this mission so he will also be on your team. In about six months, if possible, I will send out another team to either relieve or reinforce your own. You should go gather your team. Dismissed." Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

'Still likes to make a good entrance and exit.' Naruto laughed to himself. Suddenly he felt a strange feeling of dread in his stomach. He looked up at the clock and quickly realized why.

"OH SHIT! I'M LATE FOR TRAINING!" He closed his eyes and quickly located the proper tag.

Flying Thunder God."

His office disappeared in a flash of orange only to be replaced by a training ground. He landed rather clumsily on his butt and glanced all around.

'Where's Sakura?'

"Shannaro!"

"Oh there you- oh shit. I'm sorry Sakur-" Naruto never finished his apology as he went soaring through the air, and landed right in front of a combat ready Team 7.

"Oh you guys too?!" Naruto groaned as they grinned and nodded. A flurry of hand signs signified the impending attacks.

"Fire Style: Eruption Jutsu!"

"Wind Style: Winds of the Earth!"

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"

Although he was proud of the three, it REALLY sucked when the ground opened up by a massive burst of air. That burst of air proceeded to catch fire and the course of that air-fire combo was changed and headed in his direction by a rather large fireball. Naruto knew he couldn't doge so instead he did something else.

"Elemental Seal!"

He shot his hand out and GRABBED the combination jutsu. He then sealed it inside the palm of his hand.

"Thank Kami that dad left me his sealing techniques!" Naruto laughed at the look on their faces. "Now it's my turn!" He pointed his hand and released the seal, causing the massive jet of air-fire to shoot at the three genin. Of course no-one got hit as they all disappeared in a poof, indicating they were nothing but shadow clones.

"Hey guys, Kurama wants to train too. Is that ok?" His answer came as a barrage of shuriken. He grinned as he turned inwrds into his mind.

"Ok you ready Kurama?"

"Of course." Kurama scoffed.

"Just remember no complete shift. We'll go with THAT." Naruto and Kurama both grinned and nodded. Naruto just barely had time to block his wife's punch as he re-directed it into the ground. She was about to send a rather vicious kick his way when her leg was caught by something orange and bushy. She was shocked to see Naruto now had nine tails protruding from his _untransformed _self! He also had fox ears and his whisker scars had become real whiskers. She had never seen THIS before.

"Naruto are you ok?" She was quite concerned but was shocked when he grinned and disappeared, only to reappear right in front of her. "Naru-" She was cut off when he decided to kiss her.

"Yes Sakura we're fine. This form is a perfect balance between us. At this point your talking to BOTH of us. But right now you should be more concerned about the training session." He grinned as she shook her head and threw a punch, only for another tail to catch it. She let out what almost sounded like a growl of frustration when he decided to hang her upside down and tie her to a tree branch, laughing the whole time. She turned around just in time to catch a brace of kunai on another tail and casually tossed them aside.

"Ok guys, now it's OUR turn!" He grinned and disappeared.

* * *

"That was complete bull shit!" Riku was fuming as he tried to untangle himself from the wire tying him to the tree branch, much to Naruto and Yuki's enjoyment. The hawk had always liked Naruto but it pissed Riku off to no end when it sat on Naruto's shoulder instead of trying to help cut him down. One impressive new thing about Riku though was that, much like the Inuzuka's dogs, Yuki was developing his _vocabulary_ which has allowed him to start speaking a little human language.

"This funny!" Yuki was the bird equivalent of laughing as Riku failed to get untangled for the 5th time. He heard a crash and watched his blonde haired son fall to the ground.

"I suppose I should go check on him. Yuki you can help him down whenever." Naruto gradually made his way over to Hotaru, wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes the whole way. He mentally gave Kurama a high-five for the most successful prank on the genin team. When he finally got to his son he noticed 2 sets of emerald eyes glaring at him.

"Naruto." Sakura growled a very dangerous sounding growl which caused him to gulp.

"You owe me SO much ramen after this one!" That broke the mood as they all broke down laughing. They turned their heads to watch Yuki laugh when Riku hit the ground head first.

"Ouch," Sakura winced for Riku, "that's easily a minor concussion. I guess I'll go help him. Naruto take your son to Ichiraku's and I'll meet you guys their when I'm done." She watched both father and son jump to their feet.

"I'll beat you their dad!"

"Not a chance!" With that they both took off, leaving a trail of dust in their wake. Sakura just shook her head as she grinned and walked towards Riku's location.

* * *

Asuma was completely out of breath...and in a lot of pain. He glanced down at the bullet hole in his hand and winced when he realized that it hit several major tendons, rendering that hand useless.

"Well Kakashi," Asuma was breathing hard as was the silver haired jounin, "seems we're in a little bit of trouble here."

Kakashi shook his head and revealed a seal inside his jacket.

"Our Hokage will be here as soon as possible. We just need to hold out until then." Kakashi tried to locate his comrades and hoped they would finish their fights soon. A giant blade interrupted his thoughts when it tried to slice him in half.

"Well it seems that I'll just need to kill you before then!" Rykuga grinned as his skin turned to iron. "Shall we?"

* * *

AN: Sorry guys. This chapter should have been up yesterday but the internet went down and I lost the entire thing.. Well good news is it's here now. Please leave a review of your favorite part of this chapter. Enjoy!


	21. Fight for your Life!

**Review Responses:**

**meee: Good to see you still reviewing. Also don't worry about that, although you will (hopefully) not see it coming!**

**Jinchuuriki Jake: My answers in order of your questions/statements: That's nice, ...hell no, and that idea is absolutely...Awesome!**

* * *

Asuma winced again as he tried to make the seals for Burning Ash, although he soon found that his hand was completely useless because of the destroyed tendons. He also realized that if their team didn't show up quick then they were as good as dead. He glanced over at Kakashi to see how he was holding up.

'It looks as though we're both in the same boat...This is really bad.' Asuma's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of laughter. He quickly turned to the source of the sound when he seen Rykuga charging forward with in iron spear protruding from his fist. Asuma instinctively raised his hand only to feel the sharp pain of his wound being stretched by the metal. Asuma winced in pain, determined not to show the pain he was in. Instead he quickly drew a chakra blade and slashed at Rykuga, cutting him nearly in half. His efforts were rewarded with more laughter and the pain of the spear being twisted in his hand. The pain was enough to cause his to see black spots in his vision.

'NO, I will not pass out now!' Asuma dropped to his knees when he felt his left shoulder being nearly ripped off. Suddenly Kakashi appeared behind Rykuga, his hand coated in lightning, which he then thrusted through Rykuga's head.

'That did it for sure!' Kakashi was disappointed to see the head reform once his hand was removed. Kakashi grabbed Asuma and leapt backwards to avoid the porcupine-looking Rykuga from impaling them both.

"Kakashi...I-I can't...figure out...how to beat him..." Asuma was struggling on not passing out. He was beginning to sway slightly as the breeze hitting his wounds would elicit the occasional pained breath from him.

"What's wrong you two? afraid of little ol me?" Rykuga began to laugh again.

"Because if your not-" another Rykuga suddenly sprung from the ground in front of Kakashi, a massive blade aimed right for his heart, "you should be!" He thrust the blade forward.

* * *

"Haha I win!" Naruto laughed playfully at his son, who had just shown up panting.

"That's no fair! I didn't know you had a seal here!" Hotaru was sucking major wind as he tried talking after his long sprint there. Naruto just laughed again.

"Well what do you expect huh? This IS my favorite place to eat. Nothing can beat Ichiraku's!" He sat down in his favorite spot while Hotaru dragged himself up next to his dad. Hotaru couldn't disagree with his father's statement so he started to laugh at how true it was in their eyes. They both ordered the usual Miso Ramen and began to dig in. Naruto was probably the fastest Ramen eater in all of the Hidden Leaf and he took pride in that, but man if his son wasn't a close second! the 2 Uzumakis were so busy having their litte "eat off" that they didn't notice Sakura walk in. She took one look at the 5 empty bowls in front of each and smacked them both on the back of the head.

"SLOW DOWN! Naruto does it LOOK like we're made of money huh? And same goes for you Hotaru!" Sakura was about to lay into the 2 of them when Naruto looked at the "old man" (as Naruto like to still call him) with pleading eyes. He was quick enough to produce Sakura's favorite bowl of ramen. As soon as she seen this she stopped her fists and sat down next to her husband as though nothing happened. Naruto was quick to capitalize on this as he quickly (but silently) high-fived Hotaru under the counter. Before he could take another bite he heard heavy breathing behind him. He spun about, kunai in hand, ready to face the man only to see Kakashi being held up by a near-unconscious Gaara. Temari and Shikamaru were passed out on a cloud of sand.

"I'm sorry-" It was all Gaara could get out before he fell over. Naruto and Sakura were already on their feet when they hit the ground. Sakura ran over and began to diagnose their conditions. Her expression grew more grim with each passing moment. Finally her head dropped and Naruto could see tears falling.

"What is it Sakura? How bad are they?" Naruto got on his knees next to her as she quietly said the diagnoses: "They're...They're dying...We...We need to hurry Naruto!"

With a sudden newfound energy she surged to her feet, dragging Naruto with her. She then quickly barking out orders. If the situation wasn't so horrible, Naruto would have felt proud for how she took charge of the situation.

"Ok Naruto and Hotaru I need you both to try and help me carry them to the hospital and we need to hurry! They won't last long otherwise." The 2 boys quickly jumped forward, Naruto taking Gaara and Kakashi while Hotaru grabbed Shikamaru which left Temari for Sakura. They all quickly took off down the road towards the hospital, leaving a very shocked group of people back at the ramen shop. A little ways down the street, Rykuga came walking out of an alley with a grin on his face.

'Now it's time to get my revenge.'

* * *

Darkness. Kakashi couldn't see a damn thing. Except for the one scene happening over and over in front of him: Asuma jumping in the way.

-**Flashback**-

Kakashi closed his eyes and prepared for the blow to his heart. He was fully ready to die. He never expected the spatter of blood on his face. He opened his eyes and gasped at the sight before him. There, on the blade that should be embedded in his chest, was Asuma being lifted into the air.

"This sword was for the Copy Ninja! Not you, you worthless waste of space!" Kakashi watched in horror as Asuma was carelessly thrown off the blade, nearly cutting him in two. Rykuga turned his attention back to Kakashi only to be staring at the mangekyou sharingan.

"FUUUCCCCKKKKK!" Rykuga was sucked into a vortex, leaving nothing where he once stood. Kakashi quickly went to Asuma's side.

"Asuma...Asuma answer me!" Kakashi wanted to cry for the man but he couldn't. His tears had long been shed for his former team. Instead he could only sit their and watch the life leave Asuma's eyes.

Asuma Sarutobi was dead.

-**End Flashback**-

* * *

Naruto woke up at his desk. He sat up from his desk muttering "I'm up" and turned to look at the door. Despite the somber mood on her face, Sakura couldn't help but giggle a little at the sight before her. Here was a half-asleep Naruto with a piece of paper stuck to his face. When he still didn't show any sign of catching on, Sakura just pointed at his cheek. When he put his hand there, he began to turn red with embarrassment and he quickly wiped the paper off of his face.

"Well now that that's done, what do you need Sakura?" The look quickly returned to her face, telling Naruto that it wasn't good.

"Temari, Kakashi, and Gaara are still in a comatose state. Shikamaru has woken up but is still too weak to move. They all suffered the same wounds but that's not all." Sakura looked as though she was going to start to cry again and Naruto went to her side and hugged her. She quickly wiped away the tears and continued with her report. "Asuma Sarutobi has fallen in combat and Hinata Hyuuga was captured in the fight. She has yet to be located." Sakura felt Naruto stiffen when she said the last part of her report. His hands fell to his side and it almost looked as though he had been physically punched as he stumbled back into a chair.

"You mean to say...that I sent...a man to his death...and a dear friend is now missing by this same man...how...why..." Naruto looked as though he was going to have a mental break down. He had been the Hokage for a while now and he took pride in the fact that not a single ninja had been captured or killed under his rule. Now in the span of one day that had all been ruined. It didn't help that he had been close to both victims. Before he could continue on the train of thought Misaku came bursting through the door, panic written clearly on her face.

"Uncle Naruto! You need to hurry! My dad and brother are being attacked and mom's hurt bad!" Naruto and Sakura took one look at each other and nodded. Naruto quickly hugged Sakura and they both disappeared. When they reappeared Naruto quickly pulled Sakura down, barely dodging the axe that was meant to decapitate them. Naruto quickly twisted around and took the kick for Sakura, knocking them both back. They got to their feet and quickly glanced around. Ino was unconscious, pinned to the wall by a spike through the right side of her stomach. Sakura knew that was non-lethal but if she didn't act fast Ino would bleed out from all of the wounds on her entire body. Riku was slouched over, eyes wide open but unmoving. Naruto recognized this from his fights against Itachi.

"Sakura, Riku's under a genjutsu. A bad one at that." Sakura just nodded and got into her fighting stance. Naruto watched her activate her Chakra Blades (Quick AN: this is the combat version of the Chakra Scalpels. Only Sakura has mastered this technique.) and he quickly dropped into a fighting stance. They both charged forward to help Sasuke as he fought a loosing battle against an infuriated Rykuga.

"Why won't you just DIE!" Rykuga stabbed forward, catching Sasuke's side. He did a quick round house that sent Sasuke into the incoming Naruto who was forced to dissipate his Rasengan otherwise he would hit his friend. Sakura was about to hit Rykuga with her Chakra Blades when a third eye opened on his forehead.

"Eye of Insanity: Temporary Paralysis!"

Sakura went limp and fell on her face in front of Rykuga. He glanced down and kicked her in the ribs hard enough to feel them snap.

"I would kill you but you aren't my target this time. Consider yourself lucky because next time," He bent down and whispered into her ear, "I will kill you." With that he kneed her in the face, knocking her out. He then glanced at Sasuke and smiled. Naruto watched as everything happened in slow motion. Rykuga charged Ino's unconscious body with his arm raised and ready to decapitate her. Suddenly Sasuke began to move, fast. Naruto tried to reach Rykuga before he got there. There was the sound of metal slashing through skin and bones. Then there was the sound of a sickening thud on the ground.

"Well mission accomplished." Rykuga sunk into the ground just as Naruto got there. Naruto quickly turned around and stopped. His blood ran cold at the sight before him. Sasuke Uchiha was impaled on the wall, blades protruding from multiple points. There was only one, however, that Naruto was staring at. He couldn't tear his sight off of the blade coming out of Sasuke's mouth.

"Sas...Sasuke...SASUKE!" Naruto fell to his knees and began to weep bitterly. He had, for the second time as Hokage, failed a friend.

He failed the Uchiha family. He failed Ino. He failed Misaku and Riku.

He failed Sasuke.

* * *

AN: Well here it is, another chapter of (Re)Setting the Stage. I hope you guys don't want to kill me TOO badly. Please leave a review telling me what your favorite part was. Enjoy!


	22. The Aftermath

**Review Responses:**

**McAwzome: Well I'm...Glad...I guess haha! Just keep reading and find out Riku's fate!**

**(Not) Eiseah: Make up your mind! Are you Eiseah or aren't you?! Yeah the brutality of last chapter was to show Rykuga's "nature". As you can tell, he's pretty fucking insane! Glad you like reading about paralyzed people falling on their faces. Keep reading and I'll keep doing my best!**

**Normally I don't respond to old chapters but I would like to extend this to a new fan:**

**Sasusakui: I'm very pleased to see that you're enjoying the story. When you reach this point I hope you are still enjoying this book. Please keep up the reviews and let me know what you think. Also I know I tend to rush things. I'm typing this story on a Kindle (takes FOREVER just to type one chapter) but I have been trying to slow down my writing.**

* * *

Riku never remembered having the ability to fly. Sure he was an Uchiha and a very skilled shinobi but to FLY?! No that wasn't possible.

"I must be dreaming." Riku mumbled to himself and he opened his eyes. The thing is, when he opened them he could only see the same scene over and over: His father's death. Riku tried to close his eyes again but found he had no eyelids. He tried to look away but everywhere he looked, he saw his father's blank eyes.

"Stop! Please! What have I done to deserve this?!" Riku's eyes stung as he tried to cry but nothing came out.

All he could do was watch his father get impaled over and over.

He slowly started dying inside.

* * *

_4 months later_

"Hey buddy how are we doing this morning?" The nurse talked to the boy that was still fast asleep. She knew that he probably would never wake up. He had been brought in as a victim in the attack that took the life of Sasuke Uchiha. She remembered the funeral, it was one that would always be remembered. Sasuke was buried next to his parents in the cemetery. She remembered the shock she felt to see Itachi Uchiha there at his funeral too. It was hard to forgive the man even after the Hokage had released the real story of Itachi. Lord Naruto had also issued an official pardon of Itachi and he welcomed the man back with open arms. Even so, some people still didn't trust the man.

After the funeral, she remembered being called into the hospital about a patient that needed to be cared for. As soon as she seen the young boy's condition she had immediately accepted the job. During this time she had the honor of meeting Lady Sakura, Lady Ino, and even Lord Naruto as they were close friends to this child. The Hokage's wife had even offered to help her with caring for Riku Uchiha, which she jumped on the opportunity to get to know her. During that time, she had even developed a close bond with the unconscious child.

'It's a shame he'll probably never wake up from this genjutsu. Even Sakura herself couldn't break it.' The nurse shook her head sadly, wishing she could help him recover.

"Wh-where am I?"

The sound of broken glass rang through the hallway and Sakura immediately rushed to the source. She threw open the door and stopped dead in her tracks at what she saw. She stared at the boy in the bed, her emerald eyes meeting his blue ones.

"Sakura? Sakura where am I?" Riku looked around, confusion etched clearly on his face. He didn't recognize this room and he was starting to feel anxious. Suddenly memories of what he had suffered through came rushing back to his head. He started to cry at the images and began looking for a way out. Sakura quickly came over to comfort him. As she did she turned towards the nurse.

"Please grab Ino Uchiha and my husband. Do this quickly!" The nurse nodded and bolted out of the room towards the Uchiha complex.

Riku was a nervous wreck as he kept saying "Dad" as though his tears would cause him to walk into the room.

* * *

Ino sat looking at the family photo she kept in the living room. She couldn't stop wiping her eyes to keep the tears that were building there from falling. That night, she had been attacked and knocked unconscious. She had been unable to do anything to prevent her son from being hurt and she felt that she was the reason Sasuke had died.

_"He died trying to protect you...I'm...I'm so sorry...I-I couldn't do anything...I...I failed you and I failed him"_

Naruto's words continued to ring clearly through her mind as the same ones stood out to her.

"He died protecting me..." Ino kept mumbling to herself. She heard the front door open and she quickly put down the picture, wiping away the tears as she put on a happy face for the sake of her daughter.

"Hey mom I'm home!" Misaku found her mom where she usually was. Misaku had been so excited to tell her mom how she had done on the mission with Kakashi and Hotaru but that excitement was rapidly replaced with sorrow as she seen what her mom had just put down. Misaku quietly walked over and hugged her mom, feelings of sorrow and helplessness washing over her. She had been there when Rykuga had killed her dad. She had went back and hid to watch the events unfold, too afraid to step in herself. She had watched in horror as several metal spikes grew out of Rykuga as he ran into Sasuke, pinning him to the wall. At that point she had turned away, crying bitterly at her own uselessness in the whole situation.

Before Misaku could think on it any further, she heard the front door get thrown open. Misaku went on the defensive, ready to attack, until she heard her brother's nurse calling out to her mother.

"Lady Ino! Lady Ino I have news from the hospital!" Both her and her mother emerged from the living room to confront the nurse. As soon as the woman seen them she began to speak in rushed tones.

"Lady Ino! I have major news from Lady Sakura! Your son, Riku Uchiha, has awoken from his coma!" Not even a second passed before Ino was no longer in the room.

* * *

Riku was out of tears. His eyes were dry and all he felt, or rather all he _didn't_ feel, was numbness. Sakura had told him the news and stayed there comforting him. At first he had been a wreck but he had soon closed himself off from the world. He didn't want to face reality.

"Oh my god! Riku!" He slowly turned his head to see his mother rush over and embrace him, crying as she did it. Before anyone cold ay anything, a bright orange flash illuminated the room. Once it cleared away it showed a happy Naruto and a very shocked nurse. Naruto glanced around the room before his gaze slowly settled on Riku. He smiled warmly and in that smile Riku knew everything Naruto wanted to say. Instead he focused on his mom as he gradually felt his emotions beginning to bubble up again.

"Come on Naruto. Let's give these guys some space." Sakura took Naruto by the arm and pulled him gently out of the room. Before he disappeared, he smiled at Riku one more time.

* * *

_1 month later_

Naruto was, once again, impressed with the two Uchiha siblings. He had been shocked when Riku told him that he had mastered the Sharingan when he was in his coma. His story was shocking. It turned out that during the coma he took the time to delve deep into his mind. He earned everything about his own mind to such a perfect detail that he had become immune to genjutsu, since the enemy was no longer able to manipulate his mind. After that, he had begun to subconsciously train using the Sharingan. He also learned that, like his sister, since he witnessed the death of their father, he had suffered so much emotional trauma that it had unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan. After that, his sister and him took the next step and, after weeks of convincing their mother it was for the best, had gained Ino's permission to "swap eyes". Sakura had overseen the operation and in the end had been the one to report that it was successful. Itachi had also finished his long-term undercover mission and returned home to train Riku and Misaku in the use of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Naruto now stood on Field 3 in front of Team 7. He had came there to test the three students in front of him to see if they were ready to take the Chunnin Exams. Kakashi had said they were but he wasn't entirely convinced. Sakura had said it was just him being over protective of his son and his "nephews" but he could see that she remembered their Chunnin Exams. He wanted to make sure they were ready for anything.

"Ok you three. I want you to come at me with everything you got. No holding back." He grinned as he seen them each take up their stances.

"Hey Uncle Naruto, I can already see that-" Riku was cut off when Naruto appeared in front of him.

"Go!"

Riku acted quickly and moved to block Naruto's fist as Hotaru and Misaku flashed through several dozen hand signs in seconds.

"Wind Style: Wrath of the Winds!"

"Fire Style: Fire Shockwave!"

Hotaru deeply inhaled and blew a massive gust of wind that started to blow over trees. Misaku quickly clapped her hands, sending out a wave of fire that was made more intense by the winds. Naruto's eyes widened as he seen it coming at him. He quickly flashed through his own hand signs.

"Water-Earth Combination Style: Soaked Earth God!"

Naruto smashed his hands into the ground which caused a wall of water-imbued earth to rise up in front of the fire wave, effectively stopping it. He was surprised though to find all of the water had evaporated and the earth was crumbling. He was even more shocked when he heard Misaku's next jutsu.

"Wood Style: Tree Imprisonment Jutsu!"

Naruto found saplings growing around his legs, holding him in place. The saplings quickly grew into trees and eventually all they could see was Naruto's face.

"Well it looks like Yamato's training paid off huh." Naruto watched Misaku grin and nod.

"It's over dad you-" Before Hotaru finished his father cut him off with his own jutsu.

"Armor of the Wind God!"

The tree was decimated as a vortex of wind swirled around him. He then disappeared from view. Misaku felt something hit the back of her head. She watched Hotaru begin to fall unconscious also.

'Damn it!'

Riku quickly ducked and turned around before drawing his father's sword. He quickly imbued the blade with his fire chakra, causing the blade to become white-hot, and he ran his lightning chakra around it before he quickly plunged his sword through Naruto's head.

"As I was saying," Riku started as he removed his blade, Naruto's lifeless body dropping to the ground, "I already know that your a Shadow Clone. I seen it right away with my Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. You can come on out now!" Naruto's "body" disappeared in a cloud of smoke as Naruto came out clapping.

"Ok you two, I know your faking, get up now." Naruto watched as Hotaru and Misaku got up grinning.

"Ok Team 7, I think your ready for the Chunnin Exams. You have my personal blessings. Now it's up to you to convince your mothers." Team 7 cheered at their accomplishment.

"Chunnin Exams here we come!"

* * *

Nabitora and Akiko both were panting after another intense training session. Nabitora had been learning to master the Darkness Style while Akiko was mastering the Light Style. They had become very efficient comrades and outside of missions, they became good friends. They had completed 13 S-rank missions and 36 A-rank missions as a team.

Suddenly a flash of orange stopped them from saying any words as their Hokage appeared in front of them.

"I have a mission for you two. This will be your most dangerous mission yet but I think your the only two that could do this. Your mission is to hunt down and kill Rykuga Azu. If you accept this mission, you will have an infinite amount of time to complete it and you will be paid enough to afford 5 years of supplies. Do you wish to take this mission?"

Nabitora and Akiko glanced at each other and grinned. They were going to get to kill the bastard that killed Sasuke Uchiha.

"Yes Lord Hokage. We accept."

* * *

AN: Here is another chapter of (Re)Setting the Stage. I hope I'm not moving TOO fast but I did need to fit quite a bit into this chapter. Please leave a review of your favorite part and any suggestions you have. Enjoy!


	23. The Mission Begins

**Review Responses:**

**meee: Good to have you back! Yeah it does kinda suck that Sasuke had to die (by the way I agree with your feelings to an extent haha) but it had to be done in order to allow Riku and Misaku to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan. Glad I could surprise you with Itachi's return. Hopefully I'm able to keep you guessing and hope to see your review on this chapter!**

**Jinchuuriki Jake: I'm glad you enjoyed the whole Misaku learns wood style thing. I've been building up to that for a while. I also should say that what you described is called a cliffhanger haha!**

**McAwzome: Well, well look who finally pieced it together!**

**Maybe Eiseah: Touché with the name, but this name makes you seem even more indecisive about your own identity haha! Glad to see that you like the Akiko-Nabitora team. I have some big plans for them...That is if Rykuga doesn't kill them (He tends to kill people that hunt him down HAHA!).**

* * *

Nabitora had expected to already be fighting the sick S.O.B called Rykuga but it seemed fate was going to make them wait. Nabitora, thanks to being around Akiko for too long, had picked up his partner's impatience. Now they were stuck in the Land of Tea waiting to prevent the assassination that Rykuga was planning. They had been after him for a month now and this would be their first chance for a LONG time to take him down quickly.

"So you think that bastard will show his face?" Akiko was lazily dangling his leg off of the roof they were on as he ate some bacon.

"Akiko I will never understand where all of that fucking bacon comes from, will I?" Nabitora had always been baffled at the man's "unique" ability to pull the food seemingly out of the air. The statement just made Akiko smile and shake his head in the negative.

"And as for you question, yes I believe that he will try to act on this. It's the best way for him to spread the seeds of insanity in this land." Nabitora's statement elicited a scoff from Akiko as he thought about their target's "life mission" as he was heard saying.

"Just cause the guy's a fucking loon doesn't mean that he has to try and drag other people down with him!" Akiko replaced the piece of bacon with another as he said this, causing Nabitora to shake his head.

"You and your fucking bacon!"

* * *

Itachi glanced at his surroundings, not surprised to see that the sky was red. He had been training Riku and Misaku in the use of their Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. Misaku had show her abilities to be Amaterasu and the Susanoo. She was especially lethal when she would imprison her foes using the Wood Style and then she would ignite the wooden prison with her Amaterasu.

Riku had displayed something that had never been seen in the history of the Sharingan: the ability to use every single ability of the Mangekyou Sharingan. He had even declared that he was developing his own technique that could only be used by someone with the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Impressive." Itachi muttered as he was trapped inside the Tsukuyomi. He quickly activated his own Mangekyou Sharingan and broke the genjutsu, although even he was beginning to struggle with breaking Riku's Tsukuyomi. When he returned to the regular world, he found himself inside a tree. Knowing what was coming next, he quickly activated his Susanoo just in time as the black flames spread across it's fire red surface. The Amaterasu quickly dissipated when it was proven ineffective. When his line of sight was cleared, Itachi was faced by Riku's pitch black Susanoo and Misaku's white Susanoo.

'Hm, like the Yin and Yang.' He always thought that when he seen the two Susanoo's together.

"Well lets get this over with."

* * *

Hotaru was doubled over trying to catch his breath. Recently, his parents had taken up his training with the occasional help from Kakashi. He had gotten the basics of his mother's strength technique too the point where he was able to replicate the results his mom had been able to do when she was 16. He told her that he would settle with that and now they were training his Chakra Nature Affinities. Hotaru was ecstatic when his father and mother had offered to train him but now he was skeptical if they were there to train him or kill him. Suddenly a wave of nausea hit him, hard. He couldn't stop himself from throwing up on the ground before he stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet, and landing on the grass.

"Hey, hey Hotaru look at me." Hotaru's eyes were able to focus enough to make out the whisker marks on the cheeks of the man above him.

"Heh heh, looks like I overdid it. Again." Hotaru knew enough from his mother to tell he was suffering from both physical and chakra exhaustion.

"Well hey, don't blame it on me this time buddy. Last time your mom was pretty angry at me." Naruto decided to leave out the fact that his wife cut off his favorite nighttime activity for a week. God he did NOT want to go through that again.

"What's wrong? You don't want to get in trouble again huh?" Hotaru smirked weakly as his father rubbed the back of his head.

"Heh heh, you could say something like that." Naruto scooped up his son and began to make his way home, the whole time hoping that his son wouldn't rat him out.

"Hey if you take the blame for this one, I'll teach you the Wind Armor Jutsu." His son perked up at that one and immediately nodded his head. Naruto grinned, knowing he had just bought his son's silence.

* * *

Akiko was having an AWESOME dream. Or at least he was before he felt a foot nudge him.

'FUCK' That was the only thing he could think as he opened his eyes in time to see the ground right before his face hit it.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR!?" Akiko was quickly silenced when a band of light wrapped itself around his mouth and head, effectively silencing him for now.

"Shut up you moron! He's here." Nabitora hissed out the statement as he pointed several yards ahead of them. Akiko nodded as the light was removed from his mouth. He looked at Nabitora and they both nodded as they prepared their signature jutsus. Akiko stood up and aimed ahead of them while Nabitora spun around as they both called out their jutsus.

"Light Style: Light Cannon Jutsu!"

"Darkness Style: Shadow Cannon Jutsu!"

Both Rykugas were destroyed while Nabitora and Akiko went back-to-back and started rotating as they decimated the small force around them. Rykuga quickly emerged from underneath them and shot both of his hands out. Nabitora was quick to dodge as he remembered what happened last time Rykuga grabbed one of his limbs. Akiko, however, was not fast enough as Rykuga latched onto his leg. Akiko cried out in pain when several spikes forcefully ripped through his leg. Rykuga shot out of the ground and began to pick Akiko up, using the spikes to do so, and began to swing him over his head, smashing him into the ground repeatedly. Nabitora quickly formed a sword out of light and rushed Rykuga.

"Fuck! Nabitora get this asshole off of my leg!" Akiko gritted his teeth in pain as he felt the bone in his leg begin to crack. Nabitora jumped up and brought the sword down on Rykuga, who just stood there and let the sword chop him right down the middle. Nabitora was about to turn his attention to Akiko when he felt something hit his chest hard enough to break 2 or 3 of his ribs. He watched in horror as the two halves grew into two separate Rykugas. The one that had Akiko continued to torture the Knight of Darkness as the other one rapidly advanced on Nabitora and engaged him with his transformed arm. Akiko was beginning to see stars as the pain was starting to overwhelm his senses.

'I need to completely destroy his body otherwise he will just regenerate.' Nabitora quickly formed several hand signs before he called out the jutsu.

"Darkness Style: Mouth of the Shadows!"

A black mass emerged from the ground and rapidly swallowed up the two Rykugas. Nabitora quickly made his way over to his partner and tried his best to inspect the damage. Akiko's leg was missing from halfway down the calf, the bone was literally ripped in two. the leg was no where to be found. Akiko had passed out from the pain and blood flowed freely from his leg. Nabitora quickly placed a "pad" of solid light over the wound before he molded it so it fit into all of the nooks and crannies of his mutilated leg so it would prevent him from bleeding out. With their business done, Nabitora quickly began making his way back to the Leaf.

'There is only one person who could heal this damage. I need to hurry before the jutsu wears off and he bleeds out.' Nabitora put on another burst of speed, knowing that his partner's life was in his hands.

* * *

Naruto watched as Sakura closed the door to their son's room. Hotaru had passed out on the way home and Naruto told Sakura the story that the two blondes had agreed to. Sakura said she wanted to hear the story from Hotaru first. Know they were down in the kitchen eating a late dinner.

"So besides him passing out, how did he do today?"

"Oh man he was impressive! He actually made me pull out the Combination Form only up to 2 tails though." Naruto had come to calling his ability to balance the physical traits of Kurama and himself the Combination Form. Sakura would always comment on his lack of creativity outside battle, using that name as one of her main references. She couldn't help it, she loved to tease him.

"Couldn't you come up with another name for it? I mean seriously you're not very-"

"-creative outside of battle. Yeah, yeah same old teasing just a different day." Naruto smirked until she slowly made her way over to him. He began to get worried, thinking that she was about to smack him. That was until she leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"And in bed." She whispered seductively as Naruto began to grin. He pulled her back and kissed her deeply. They both liked where this night was heading.

* * *

Hotaru dragged himself down the hallway to find his mom. He had developed a splitting headache and his mom's medical ninjutsu always helped. He made his way to their door and raised his hand to knock before he heard something.

"Oh Naruto!" He heard his mother moan.

Hotaru turned around, eyes as wide as dinner plates and his hand still raised, and walked back to his room. The whole way he kept thinking one thing: 'I didn't hear that! I didn't hear that! I didn't hear that!"

* * *

AN: Well here's another chapter. Hope you liked it. Please leave a review about your favorite part and any suggestions you may have. Enjoy!


	24. The Rescue Effort Begins

**Review Responses:**

**Jinchuuriki Jake: Well...that was...interesting...Don't worry there will be (and I quote) "MOAR SEXY TIMEZ AND MOAR BACON". Remember Akiko's favorite food is bacon and for the "sexy timez" we got Naruto and Sakura (among other future relationships.)**

**(Mr.G) Eiseah: Glad you like Akiko's "unique skills" in the "Art of Bacon" haha! Also I'm glad that you thought the Hotaru moment was funny. I look forward to see what other names you can come up with Mr.G.**

**McAwzome: I'm glad you liked the reference to the Yin Yang. Also it's good to see that the "Scarring Hotaru" moment is well received. PS Itachi will NOT be op.**

* * *

Naruto woke up 2 minutes before the alarm. He didn't want to get up and disturb Sakura so instead he just turned it off with one of the tails he had wrapped around her. He couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that the demon that had made his childhood a living hell was now the thing he was using to keep his wife warm.

"Hey we need to talk." Naruto sighed as he entered his mind. When he looked around he saw Kurama curled up in a giant ball with only his head looking at Naruto.

"See Sakura was right! Your nothing but a giant ball of fluff haha!" Naruto pointed at his friend as Kurama just snorted at him.

"Only around our mate." Kurama grinned when Naruto walked over and sat down, using him as a furry back rest.

"So what did you need Kurama?" Naruto rested his head on his hands as he leaned back into the "fearsome Nine-Tails". Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at that everytime he heard it considering how the fox treated him and his family and friends.

"I thought I should warn you that I sense the other Tailed Beasts chakra. They are finally regenerating after the destruction of the Ten-Tails." Kurama hated talking about the Ten-Tails and Obito's attempted removal of him from Naruto. He was lucky that Sasuke and Sakura had shown up when they had. Kurama was still weakened from the amount that he had successfully taken.

"Hopefully they still remember my talk with them. I promised that I would take care of them and I fully intend to honor that promise." Naruto didn't like talking about Obito so he left that part out. He always felt cold knowing how close he was from dying. He could still remember his mom and dad sending him back. He also couldn't help but smile at the memory of waking up to Sakura crying over him. Although he hated it when she cried, he still felt good knowing that she cared for him.

"Well then, I think you should take some time and head out to meet each of them. It'll help them having a familiar face when they are fully resurrected." Kurama felt Naruto nod and stand up. Before He left Kurama held out his fist and Naruto did the same, like they had all those years ago.

When Naruto came out of his mind he felt a weight on his chest. Looking up he saw Sakura straddling him.

"Up for round 2?" Naruto grinned when Sakura just leaned down and kissed him deeply. He pulled her closer with his tails.

'What a way to start the morning!' Was all he thought before going back to kiss her a second time.

* * *

Shino, Shikamaru, and Shikamaru's girlfriend, Temari, all stood at the Hokage's desk waiting for the leader of Konoha to show up.

"I beat Sakura's sunk her claws into him this morning." Temari smirked as she said what everyone was thinking. Shikamaru just muttered his usual "troublesome woman" while Shino remained completely silent. Before Temari could "reprimand" Shikamaru, Naruto came bursting through the door.

"Sorry, sorry. I lost track of the time this morning." Naruto nervously rubbed the back of his head as he went to sit down.

"Well you were probably too focused on Sakura to look at the time." Temari laughed as Naruto began to blush.

"Well, yeah but that's not the only reason." It was Naruto's turn to laugh as Temari stared at him, shocked at such a straight forward answer. "Besides, I would bet you and Shikamaru were almost late this morning too." Before either of them could say anything Shino spoke up.

"Your right Naruto. Because Temari and Shikamaru came rushing in thinking they were late." Naruto laughed at the pair who were now blushing very badly.

"As much as I would like to keep going, I have a rather large mission for you three." The team before him immediately became serious as they listened. Naruto was still happy about the joint cooperation between Gaara and himself. Since the fall of the Sand Village, Naruto and Gaara had agrred to lend each other shinobi for missions, thus increasing the amount of missions, and clients, that they could handle. The Sand's army had also begun to recover as they had kids from their village in the Ninja Academy, allowing them to train more Genin. The only term was that they provide their own teachers along with the Leaf's teachers.

"This is an S-rank mission. I need you three along with Nabitora, and Akiko once his leg is repaired, to begin trying to locate and recover Hinata Hyuuga. She has been missing ever since the mission at the location of the former Sand Village." Temari lowered her head when he said that. Gaara was still in a stress induced coma and Sakura said that only he could figure out how to come out of it. Shikamaru noticed this and gently pulled Temari closer to him. He knew she was still suffering, thinking she could have helped him if the Rykuga replicas hadn't separated them.

"I know it's hard, Temari, but Gaara will pull through. He always does and he always will. I need to know if you will take this mission?" Naruto watched them all nod and he stamped an approval sheet. He HATED the paperwork that came with his job but he had been prepared for it. When the trio left, he summoned several shadow clones to take over his duties as he teleported to the training field.

* * *

Hotaru was standing next to the river waiting for his father to appear. His mom was behind him, occasionally giggling at the prank the had planned for his dad. Right on schedule, an orange flash lit up the area as his father appeared. Right over the water.

"What the-" _Splash_ Hotaru and Sakura broke down laughing as Naruto surfaced, spiting out water as he pulled himself above the surface of the water.

"Why you..." Naruto was about to chase him when he had a sudden idea. He grinned as he walked over and sat down on the ground to dry himself off. His wife and son were still laughing when two tails suddenly shot out of the ground and pulled them down to their necks. They were still dazed when Naruto used some chakra to pull 2 large balls of water out of the river and held it above them with a mischievous grin.

"Don't you dare!" Sakura was struggling to get out so she wouldn't get wet when she heard Naruto say something.

"Oops." Sakura shrieked in surprise and shot out of the ground when she got soaked by the water. Hotaru yelped in surprise when the water hit him but he was still stuck.

"Naruto!" Sakura damn near growled his name as she advanced on him. When he seen she wasn't laughing, he started to turn so he could make a break for it when a hand caught his shoulder. Naruto gulped as she turned him around. He closed his eyes and waited for the hit. Needless to say he was surprised when he felt a pair of soft lips on his own.

"Ok you got us good Naruto!" Sakura was laughing as Naruto looked dazed, confused, and happy all at the same time. Sakura leaned forward and kissed him once more before she walked over and pulled Hotaru out of the ground.

"So dad what am I learning today?"

"I promised to teach you Wind Armor didn't I?" Naruto grinned as Hotaru smiled.

* * *

"There! All done." Nabitora looked at his handiwork with pride. Akiko looked down at his newly repaired leg.

"Dude, you gotta teach me how to do that!" Akiko pulled another piece of bacon out of no where and began munching on it. Nabitora was glad that the patch had held long enough for him to make it back so Sakura could heal him. Now it was Akiko's turn to be happy that Nabitora had mastered the Light Style to such an extant. The fact that he could replace limbs would make him invaluable as a medical ninja. Sakura had been teaching him the basics before they had went on their mission. They both knew that Rykuga was still out there somewhere, but for now they could rest east knowing that they had prevented an assassination. Both heads shot up simultaneously when they heard the door open. They relaxed when Shikamaru walked into the room before talking.

"I just came to let you two know that as soon as Akiko is fully recovered, we have been ordered on another mission. You two are assigned to the team because this mission will help you guys complete your other one." The duo nodded before Nabitora spoke up.

"What is the mission?" Shikamaru was at the door when he turned his head to say something.

"We have been assigned with the task of locating and rescuing Hinata Hyuuga. Now rest up, I'll fill you in on the rest later." With that, Shikamaru left the two alone to their thoughts.

* * *

Hinata sat in a dark room. She could fell the dampness around her, but she was unable to use her Byakugan to see anything due to the chakra seal that was placed on her. It left her in a state of perpetual exhaustion and she was too tired to even sit up when the door opened. Rykuga stepped into the room and said something that made her blood run cold.

"Soon your friends will walk right into my trap trying to save you. Man I'm glad I took you because, thanks to you, I've been able to slaughter several rescue efforts from different countries trying to help Konoha. I can't wait to add your Leaf friends to that list." With that he left and slammed the door. Hinata couldn't even raise her hand to wipe away the tears that began to fall.

* * *

AN: Yup this is another chapter. I decided to release another one because I felt that I didn't cover all of my thoughts with the last one. Please leave a review telling me your favorite part and/or any ideas you have. Enjoy!


	25. How Easy

**Review Responses:**

**meee: I'm just gonna do a double response here. First of all, I'm glad that you liked the "Scarring Hotaru" moment. Seems it has become a favorite haha. I too wish I had the ability to get bacon whenever I wanted it. As for Hinata...well your just going to have to read to find out!**

**Second I would like to say thank you. Your right, haters gonna hate haha. Also glad you liked the Yin Yang reference.**

**Jinchuuriki Jake: You have easily become the most random reviewer out there haha! These reviews make me laugh every time I read them! As for the "Moar bacon" don't worry, Akiko is alive so there will be more bacon. As for the "sexy timez" well you know who to look for.**

**McAwzome: Nope there wasn't any Riku or Itachi. They have had plenty of chapters so far so they might not play as active of a role in the coming chapters. You'll have to read to find out!**

* * *

Hinata sat in the darkness, tears streaking down the sides of her face. She couldn't stop thinking of home. Of all the people there, her friends, her family...everyone. She knew that the only way she would survive was if Rykuga let her go. She nearly laughed at that idea.

'Yeah right. Like Rykuga would do anything like that.' She also felt horrified by the knowledge that so many people had lost their lives trying to rescue her.

'Naruto...please just leave me. No one else needs to die for me.'

* * *

Rykuga watched the squad of ninja land on the ground below him. He could clearly make out head protectors with the symbol of several different villages on them. He watched them look around as if they were trying to find someone. Finally, a young Cloud ninja looked up. His eyes widened and he was about to yell something when Rykuga landed on him, crushing him under the massive hammer he had created. Before they knew what happened, Rykuga shot two more in the head and transformed his leg to impale another. The rest of the squad quickly leapt backwards to put distance between them.

"So, the villages are trying a joint rescue effort huh? Wow they should have at LEAST sent Killer Bee. At least he would have been a challenge!" Rykuga began laughing when he felt a pain in his mouth. He glanced down to see part of a kunai protruded from his open mouth. What caught his attention was the explosive tag attached to the end of it. The other shinobi nearly cheered when it detonated and his body disappeared from the waist up.

"I got him! I got-" The young Sand shinobi suddenly doubled over in pain. "My-my stomach...it hurts...so much!" His comrades watched in horror when a hand ripped out of his stomach. The man's eyes went wide when he started to expand until he split open. Rykuga stepped out of the bloody mess and looked down at the man.

"You really should be more careful. You never know what an explosion could kick into the air." He walked over to his other body and touched it. Everyone watched in shock when the body was absorbed into him through his fingertips. While he was doing this, the rest of the shinobi rushed him. They were hoping he was too distracted with his task. They all descended on him as were about to start stabbing him when there was a sick tearing noise. A Rock ninja began to cough up blood and looked behind him. What he saw was absolutely terrifying. Coming out of his back, was a massive blade. The situation was the same for everyone around him.

'Damn...I'm so sorry Lord Tsuchikage but...we failed.' His world was brought to darkness when a blade entered his skull.

* * *

Shikamaru quickly glanced behind him and let out a silent curse.

"Shino, can you do anything about these Mist ninja? If they keep this up, we will be too tired to even think of rescuing Hinata." Shino quickly nodded and Shikamaru watched as a swarm of bugs discreetly came out of the bottom of his pant legs. He felt a wave of relief when the pursuing ninja let out a cry. He glanced back one more time and was satisfied to see the 10 ninja fall to the ground, completely covered in bugs.

"Ok Shikamaru they're dead. Can we finally rest?" Akiko shot a look at Shikamaru to see him nod. All five leapt to the ground and collapsed in exhaustion. They had been trying to avoid patrols all day and well into the night.

"Does anybody else find it strange that the Mist has become so hostile as of late? I mean the Mizukage was never aggressive before. You think something happened?" Nabitora glanced at them and could see they were all thinking the same thing.

"Well," Shikamaru stated, "it looks like this mission will hopefully answer our questions."

* * *

Rykuga quickly made his way to his target.

'I can't stay here anymore. Naruto just had to send Shikamaru. Well hopefully I can kill him. That should crush the "mighty" Hokage's spirit!' Rykuga smiled at the thought of running Shikamaru through. He would love to see the look on Temari's face when Shikamaru's lifeless body fell in front of her feet. He quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts.

'Soon.'

He threw open the door and was hit in the face, hard. Darkness quickly rushed into his mind as he blacked out.

* * *

Hinata had shocked herself when she tore the seal off. Through sheer will power alone, she had moved her hand and ripped the seal off. As soon as she did she felt a rush of strength as her chakra returned to her. She quickly went into action when she heard the foot steps approaching her room. She waited for the door to open and lashed out as hard as she could using her Gentle Fist. She felt a feeling of satisfaction when she felt his nose snap from the force of the blow. Hinata quickly took off down the hallway and started to make her way through the hallways. Using her Byakugan to guide her, she quickly found the entrance and threw the door open.

'I'm so close! I need to keep moving!" Hinata took off into the forest ahead of her. After several hours of running she noticed five familiar chakra signatures. She nearly leapt with joy when she seen Temari standing guard. Hinata leapt into Shikamaru's camp and collapsed, sleep overtaking her.

* * *

Rykuga smiled at his fortune. He had initially been surprised when she caused him to black out but thanks to his ability, he had recovered in a matter of seconds. The problem came when he realized that Hinata had slapped the seal onto his face when she had hit him. It had taken several minutes but he was finally able to create a small knife and pushed in into the seal. With that broken, he quickly picked up Hinata's trail and followed her to the current location.

'Well thank you Hinata!' He could barely keep himself contained. He desperately wanted to kill everyone in front of him. He was also disappointed to see that Akiko's leg had been replaced.

'Oh well. Just more for me to rip off of him!' This thought brought a grin to his face. He looked back at Hinata and smiled. 'You are no longer useful like that. Time to take over.' He made a seal and watched as Hinata began to convulse.

* * *

Nabitora watched in horror as Hinata stood up and began to laugh. He was immideately ready to fight when Rykuga stepped out of the shadows. To everyone's surprise, Hinata stood up and walked over to stand beside Rykuga.

"Hinata! What are you doing?!" Nabitora couldn't figure out what was happening. First Hinata had just appeared and passed out in their camp. They had assigned him to watch her and when he took up his post she had begun to convulse. Now she stood next to Rykuga?! What was going on?

"Oh this isn't the Hinata you knew. I injected my cells into her skin when I first captured her. My cells acted like a virus and quickly spread through out her system, slowly merging with her cells. Now that the process was finished, I just needed to activate my cells to bring her completely under my control. Your friend is no more. Your looking upon the new Hinata Hyuuga, the future Destroyer of the Hidden Leaf Village. But first, I need to take care of you." He turned to look at Hinata, "Shall we?"

Nabitora watched as Hinata leapt straight at him.

"Fuck." It was all he could saw before she was on him. This was going to be a pain.

* * *

_3 Days later_

Naruto listened as Shikamaru reported the situation to him.

"So your saying that after Nabitora restrained Hinata that Rykuga retreated? Why would he do that?"

"I really don't know, Naruto. He had us. We were exhausted and barely able to fight back but as soon as we captured her he just left." Naruto could tell Shikamaru was just as confused as he was. Naruto had seen what happened to Hinata, how she had tried to lash out at him and Sakura. After that, they place multiple seals on her to completely restrain her movement and chakra. Now Sakura was busy examining her and was trying her best to remove Rykuga's cells from hers. So far she wasn't having much luck but she was able to confirm Rykuga's story. His cells were indeed merged with Hinata's cells. Normally Hinata's cells would remain in control, but something in Rykuga's DNA allowed his cells to wrest control away from Hinata. Basically Hinata was trapped in her own mind, only able to watch her body act. She was a prisoner to herself. At least that was how Sakura had described it to him. He was frustrated that another one of his friends were hurt.

"Ok Shikamaru, your dismissed." Naruto rubbed his head as he felt the start of a massive headache forming. He heard the door open again and sighed.

"Ok whatever it is it can probably wait." He immediately regretted saying that when he heard Sakura say "Ok I geuss your right." Naruto turned ariund to see her walking away, seductively swaying her hips. Before she reached the door she felt a pair of strong arms encompass her.

"Sakura you should know that I will never make YOU wait." He spun her around and kissed her as he locked the door.

* * *

Itachi was proud of his nephew and niece. They had finally become what he was aiming for all along. Riku had damn near mastered all aspects of the Sharingan while Misaku had surpassed even him with her justus. They were better them him in their own fields of strength and now he could rest easy knowing they were ready to face any challenge that might arise. Now it was time for him to head back to the Mist. He needed to find out what was going on there, fast.

* * *

The Mizukage looked out over the army he had assembled.

"Soon this world will be nothing but ash and bones." He couldn't wait to crush Naruto's skull beneath his foot.

* * *

AN: Well here is another chapter of (Re)Setting the Stage. Yes the Reaper has finally stepped back into the spotlight. Now it's time for him to finally try and finish what he started. Please leave a review of your favorite part and/or any suggestions. Enjoy!


	26. is Hope Crushed?

**Review Responses:**

**McAwzome: Don't worry, Riku's time is coming.**

**Well: I have been told that I tend to rush things. I consider the "high quality fanfic" to be my goal. It won't be easy but hopefully I reach it. It's hard not to when your typing on a Kindle Fire haha. This is the first story I have ever written so to hear that it has amazing potential makes me want to work all the harder! Right now with school coming up I won't be able to focus on the story as much. I hope you continue to follow the story and please tell me how I'm doing!**

* * *

The Raikage sat listening to the messenger, clenching his fist with a barely contained feeling of rage. The reports were grim from the border and they only kept getting worse.

"What's the status of 1st battalion?" His fears were confirmed when the messenger lowered his head.

"We've all but lost contact with them. The last report stated that they were surrounded and needed reinforcements." The messenger sat and silently listened to the string of curses that spilled out of the Raikage's mouth. A was beginning to lose his carefully built up control. The 1st battalion was the second best battalion in the entire Cloud Village and now they were just gone.

"What about the Mizukage? Does she have nothing to say!" A waited for the man to say something when he suddenly heard two distinct thumping sounds. Looking to either side of him, his body guards were unconscious and he was alone. He looked down on the man to see a pair of pitch black eyes staring back at him. He could clearly make out a third eye on his forehead. "Who are you?!"

"Well the Mizukage DOES have something to say." The Reaper was suddenly crouched on the desk in front of A. "_He_ says that," He leaned over and whispered, "I'm taking your job." With that he shot his leg out and launched A out of the window before quickly leaping out after him.

* * *

Itachi watched the Raikage come flying out of his office window and began moving towards the area he should land when he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. He watched a second figure leap out and intercept the Raikage's figure in mid air, quickly smashing him into a building.

'Shit! What is he doing here!' Itachi knew he had to move fast as he took off to assist the Raikage. He was moving as fast as his legs could take him when another figure appeared in front of him. He quickly recognized Killer Bee standing in front of him and came sliding to a stop.

"Bee what are you doing here?" Itachi needed to keep moving but he also needed to ensure the safety of the Raikage's brother.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm here to help my brother fool, ya fool!" Itachi just sighed and took off past him while motioning for him to follow. In most situations he would have tried to talk the person out of it but when Killer Bee had his mind set on something there was no changing it. Also the sound of A being sent through another building helped motivate him quite quickly.

* * *

"Is this all the mighty Raikage has to offer?" The Reaper said, completely disgusted with the man before him. "You don't deserve the title of a Kage!" He charged forward, ready to end the man's life, when he suddenly seen A raise up with electricity surging around him.

'Where did he get this power?' The Reaper tried to change directions to avoid the incoming man when he heard two distinct shouts.

"Lariat!"

The Reaper was able to duck enough to avoid a fatal blow but his left shoulder was clipped by who he assumed was Killer Bee, sending him flying forward into the face of a cliff.

"Good to see your ok brother." Bee looked at A only to see a mixture of shock and anger on his face.

"What are you doing here Bee! Your supposed to be-" He never seen the boulder coming. It blindsided him with enough force for Itachi to hear his arm shatter. Itachi moved as fast as he could and grabbed the boulder with his Susanoo preventing any further damage that could have potentially killed A. Even so, with his only arm shattered, this fight was over for A. Itachi quickly dispelled the Susanoo before coming to stand by Bee. He glanced at Bee to see him with Samehada at the ready. Itachi could feel the killer intent in the air. Hell he could almost grab it!

"Well, well if it isn't the great Itachi Uchiha, the murderer of the Uchiha Clan. What brings such a great criminal to my future home?" The Reaper gave a mock bow to Itachi.

Instead of answering, Itachi just closed his eyes and focused.

'This guy's way to strong. I need to end this as quickly as possible.' With that thought Itachi continued to focus until a small stream of blood ran down from his eye.

"Amaterasu!" His eyes shot open and a black flame suddenly appeared all around the Reaper. To Itachi's surprise, the Reaper just chuckled and forced his chakra into a bubble around him. He focused even more and the bubble expanded, snuffing the black flames whenever it touched them.

"Ok you two." The Reaper unfolded his arms and took up a fighting stance. "Show me what your made of!"

* * *

Sakura sat staring at the preliminary findings from the scan of Hinata. She could clearly see a foreign substance spread through every single cell of her body. She knew it could be removed but the question wasn't IF she could do it, it was HOW. She had to figure out how to remove a foreign invader from her entire body without killing her. She also had to do it in a gradual way otherwise they risked keeping Hinata trapped in her own mind. If they took away the controlling entity too fast then Hinata's body might not allow her to resume control, thus imprisoning her in her mind for good. The more Sakura thought about it the more she could feel a killer headache coming on. She needed to take a break but where would she go?

'To Naruto of course! Where else would you go?' Sakura was surprised to hear Inner Sakura again.

'So where have you been this entire time hmm?" Sakura questioned way her Inner self would just show up after all these years.

'Well you didn't need me. You did fine during the war and you even started to realize your feelings for Naruto. All I had to do was sit back and enjoy the ride. But now with this whole Hinata thing it seems I'm needed again.' Inner Sakura just looked at Sakura after answering, waiting for more questions.

'Makes sense I guess. So do you have any ideas?' Sakura was so glad she wasn't talking out loud. Otherwise word might have spread that the Hokage's wife had went insane.

* * *

Killer Bee ducked to avoid the lethal punches coming from the Reaper. He glanced at his left arm, hoping that what happened was not real.

'Yup arm's still backwards. Great looks like I'm not using Samehada anymore.' Said sword was still trying to heal the hole that had been punched through the center of it. Bee chanced a quick glance at Itachi to see him still on his knees from the Chakra Bullet the Reaper had used. When he looked back he immediately realized his mistake. He was now staring at the Reaper's quickly approaching figure. Out of instinct, he tried to block with his left arm but screamed in pain when he moved it. In that brief moment the Reaper grabbed his left arm and grinned.

"Chakra Style: Network Removal!"

Bee felt an unbearable pain radiate through his body, originating at his left arm. He watched as blue lines became visible beneath his skin before they tore through. He suddenly realized what was happening: the Reaper was tearing out his chakra network. He quickly drew a sword and stabbed the Reapers arm with it. The sword snapped as the flesh instantly healed. It was even faster than a tailed beast's healing abilities. He realized what had to happen and drew another sword out. Instead of attacking the Reaper, he turned the blade and charged it with chakra before he severed his own arm. As the arm fell the chakra veins were completely pulled out. The arm was shriveled before it touched the ground. The Reaper, realizing his move had failed, quickly kicked Bee in the side of the head, sending him into a nearby cliff, before he turned his attention back to Itachi. However, before he could take a step he felt a sharp pain in his side, followed by a jolt of electricity.

"My only arm may be crippled, but my legs still work!" With that the Raikage charged back into battle.

* * *

Sakura was confident in what she had to do to save Hinata. Now she just had to get it passed by Naruto before she could proceed. She approached his office but stopped when she heard yelling inside. She walked closer until she could hear what was being said.

"What do you mean? Itachi is my kid's last living relative and he's now in the middle of an invasion! How could you Naruto!" Sakura could clearly make out Ino's enraged voice.

"Like I knew the fucking Mizukage was going to invade Kumo! What would you have me do huh? Should I go there myself!" Sakura could tell that this argument had been going on for awhile because even Naruto sounded pissed.

"No I think you had enough time off when you went to God-knows-where because you had to attend to 'private business!'" It was silent for a long time before she heard Naruto let out a little sigh.

"Ok Sakura, I think you've heard enough. Come in and tell me what you have. Ino this discussion is over. Itachi is skilled enough to take care of himself. Now please, go and be with your kids. Their time off is almost over now that their training is done." Sakura had opened the door to see Ino just nod before she made her way out of the room, looking very dejected.

"Naruto don't you think-" He cut her off with a slight shake of his head. "No Sakura she's still grieving, just give her a little more time. Now tell me what you've got."

She took a deep breath before she went into her report. She laid out all of the plans for the operation such as the fact that to separate the two entities, her and several highly skilled medical ninja would be performing the Chakra Scalpel technique on a cellular level. She also told him of the risks. "The odds of success are low however. But sadly, this is the only option we have. I am also out of time as Rykuga's cells are beginning to self destruct, killing Hinata's cells in the process."

"What are the odds of success?" Sakura took a deep breath before answering: "25 percent chance of success." She waited for Naruto to reject her proposal but instead she looked up to see him give her a nod.

"Go ahead. You can begin as soon as possible."

* * *

Sakura was barely walking straight after the operation, her mind on overload. She found Naruto sitting out of the operation room with a smile on his face.

"So how did it go?" His smile quickly faded though when he seen Sakura start to tear up.

"It...It went perfectly...but she still isn't responding to physical stimuli." She noticed the blank look on his face so she decided to try and say it in terms he understood. "When we touch her hand it doesn't move."

"So she's sleeping." Naruto still wasn't understanding.

"No Naruto. When your in control of your body, you always respond to being touched. Hinata, however, is not." Realization dawned on Naruto's face as he realized what she said.

"S-so Hinata's...Hinata's not in control." She nodded sadly and added, "But it wasn't because of the operation. We think that _she_ is the one keeping herself from coming back. It's up to her to realize she's free."

Before they could say anything else, Itachi came stumbling through the door supporting a very pale Killer Bee. Naruto looked at Killer Bee's state in shock, noticing the missing arm and the protruding ribs. He then looked at Itachi's condition to see he was not much better. Holes through his chest, barely missing the heart, and his stomach, both of which had chakra burns that cauterized them. What ever had been shot threw Itachi had been made of chakra. Itachi also had his right arm broken at a disgusting angle, the elbow broken so badly that the skin had ripped open exposing the bone and joint.

Itachi collapsed in pain as Naruto and Sakura ran up to him, Sakura quickly popping a soldier pill to regain her strength. She quickly closed up the still bleeding stump where Bee's arm used to be before resetting the bones and healing them. Once she stabilized him, several nurses took him into an operating room to patch up any internal wounds. Sakura quickly turned her attention to Itachi.

"What happened Itachi?" Naruto tried to get an answer but only heard a gurgling noise.

"Naruto, his throat is crushed and he has a deflated lung. He won't be answering-" Naruto couldn't hear her anymore as he looked into Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan and the world around him turned red.

"Naruto, I am very weak so I can only answer your one question. The Mizukage has been overthrown and was replaced by the Reaper without anyone being any wiser of the situation. He then proceeded to invade the Land of Lightning and attacked Bee, A, and myself. In the end me and Bee suffered the injuries you see while A..." Itachi began to cough up blood and struggled to finish the sentence. "A...sacrificed himself to allow Killer Bee and myself to get away. The Raikage...is dead a-and...the Hidden Cloud Village...has fallen to the Reaper...Iwa is next...y-you must...warn...them..." The world returned to normal as Itachi passed out from exhaustion. Naruto got up and sprinted out of the hospital, ignoring Sakura's questions. The Tsuchikage needed to know right away.

He would not lose another ally on his watch.

* * *

AN: Yes the Raikage is dead and Hinata is in a coma. I think the chapter's title was fitting. Please leave a review of your favorite part and/or any suggestions. Enjoy!


	27. The Reaper's Horde

**Review Responses:**

**Guest: Nope but have no fear, Riku is coming along with the rest of the new Team 7! Also I've seen it spelled both ways.**

**meee: Thanks! I'm trying this new thing called slowing down haha. With that whole school thing, I was thinking the same thing. Sadly I won't be able to update as often but I will be able to up the quality (hopefully). I guess it's both positive and negative, let's just hope the quality makes up for the time.**

* * *

Ohnoki sat staring at the letter on his desk. It was sent by Naruto but that wasn't what had his attention. Instead he was staring at one sentence. He couldn't stop reading it.

_During the invasion, the Raikage was engaged in combat with the Mizukage and was killed in combat._

'Killed...How? I've known that man since we fought Madara! How could he have been beaten?' Ohnoki didn't want to accept the fact but it was impossible to deny. Naruto had sent the letter himself and if Ohnoki knew the boy like he thought he did, then there was no way that the letter was a fake. He also realized that the threat they faced was greater than even Madara. They were in serious trouble.

"Gather the army." He glanced at the still crouching messenger. "We are going to meet them half way."

* * *

Naruto had been working non stop for the whole week in a desperate attempt to drown the feelings of what he thought was another failure on his part. He felt that if he allowed these feelings to return, that he would break. Now he was close to breaking physically as his work and lack of sleep were taking its toll on the young Hokage. His head snapped up as the door opened and his wife entered, concern written quite clearly on her face.

"Naruto you need to come home. Please I...we are all worried about you." Sakura silently pleaded with her husband.

"I...I can't...I need to do this. If I don't stop him now then Iwa will be the next to fall. I can't let that happen Sakura. I can't." Naruto looked physically drained. He knew that he couldn't keep operating under this stress but he didn't know what else to do.

"Naruto if you keep this up the stress will break you. You may be strong, in fact I don't know anyone that could work at this level for a week, but still everyone has a breaking point and I can tell that you have reached yours. Please, please Naruto don't do this." Sakura's eyes began to water as she added, "If you won't do it for yourself then please do it for me and Hotaru." Naruto felt guilt wash over him as he seen the woman he loved begin to cry for him. He quickly got up and wrapped his arms around her. She finally let it out. All of the sadness, all of the loneliness, everything that had built up over the past week. She let it all out as she let his heat envelope her. Naruto couldn't stand seeing her like this but could think of nothing to help her, so he stood there and let her cry into his chest.

After several minutes, Sakura's crying had quieted down to sniffles and the occasional sob. When she looked up she saw Naruto's blue eyes staring back into hers. She let herself get lost in his eyes as she stared at them. After a minute she remembered why she came and finally looked away as she cleared her throat to speak.

"Naruto please, promise me that you will never do this again."

"I-I promise. I don't want to see you like that ever again. I'm so sorry that I scared you. I just...I just can't help feeling like I failed the Raikage." He looked away as he said that, not wanting Sakura to see his pain. She gently turned his face to look at hers.

"Naruto you never failed anyone. A knew the risks that came with being a shinobi. He also knew that being a Kage meant he would be a target for anyone attempting to over throw him or invade the country. He knew the risks but yet, just like you, he performed his job. However, this job carries those risks and it finally killed him. I wish that I could say that he, or you, were never in danger, but a lie like that could explode in my face one day. I know your in danger and I want to do my best to keep you alive. If you died... I don't know what I would do..." Sakura's voice trailed off as her mind followed that train of thought. She suddenly pulled Naruto into a deep kiss. When they pulled back Naruto seemed very confused.

"What was that all about?"

"I wanted to make sure you were still there."

"Sakura," She turned to look at Naruto as he began to speak. "I would never, ever, think of leaving you and Hotaru. This life is too perfect for me to leave it and I could never hurt you and Hotaru like that. You are the woman of my dreams and Hotaru is my precious son. I couldn't do to him what my parents did to me. It may have not been their fault and I have forgiven them, but still I know the pain of growing up without parents. Even if he still had you, the pain of my death would be unbearable for the two of you. I could never do that to you." His eyes began to tear up as he remembered his own childhood. He always vowed to never put his children through that pain and he intended to keep that promise.

"Oh Naruto..." She buried her face back into his chest. "I'm so glad your in my life."

The couple sat in Naruto's office, enjoying the feeling of each other's embrace.

* * *

The Reaper sat watching the flames as they consumed the Hidden Cloud Village. He already had all of the fighters out of the village so now he bathed in the sounds of screaming as the rest burned.

"Sir this doesn't seem right. Why would we invade a village if-" The lieutenant groaned and looked down to see a chakra hand embedded in his chest.

"This," the Reaper yelled, "is what happens when you question me. You will all show nothing but absolute loyalty or else." To prove his point, he lifted the man into the air and turned so everyone could see his face. The Reaper grinned when he heard several gasps as the man's eye color faded to white. He dissipated the chakra hand and let the body fall before he turned back to face his army.

"Within one weeks time we will rest comfortably in the village of Iwa. Until then we march. Move out!" Like a swarm of ants, the army began to pour into the countryside. Unkown to most of them, the Tsuchikage sat waiting for their advance.

The Rock's fate would be decided in the coming fight.

* * *

Riku glanced at his teammates as they ran. They fled the approaching army and cursed their luck. By some divine intervention they had been sent to help a client in the Cloud when the Reaper struck. They barely made it out as he lit the city on fire, burning it to the ground. The sick part was he never evacuated the civilians. Instead he said "those that are too weak to fight have only one purpose: death." After that he blew the tunnels and sealed the gate. Riku, Misaku, Hotaru, and Kakashi had barely made it out as the fireballs rained down on the city. The memories of the burning corpses and the stench made him want to vomit.

"Hey Riku are you ok?" Riku looked up to see Hotaru staring back at him. Hotaru could tell that something was bothering his best friend and he really wanted to figure out what.

"Everyone down. Now!" They all leapt down into the bushes and tried to suppress their chakra. A pair of feet came into sight and suddenly they heard Kakashi give of what almost sounded like a yelp of surprise as he was lifted out of the brush. Riku and Misaku jumped out of the bushes to help their sensei and just stopped, Riku even dropped the kunai he was holding.

Hotaru leapt out to help his comrades and was met by the sight of the last person any of them wanted to see: Rykuga Azu.

* * *

Naruto was at home with Sakura when he heard a tapping on the window. He groaned as he rolled out of bed, complaining the whole time. He tried his best to allow Sakura to sleep and he had no doubt that she would stay asleep. She had been emotionally exhausted when she came to Naruto that morning. He dragged himself to the window and was somewhat startled to see Yuki outside the window. Riku's hawk had learned how to speak human and was almost fluent, only the occasional mistake here and there.

Naruto opened the window to allow the hawk entrance to his house. As soon as Yuki was through the window he began to speak.

"Naruto, Riku sent me to get help but I knew only you can do anything in this situation." Naruto immediately tensed up, worried about them all especially his son. "It's Rykuga." Those words caused his eyes to flash red. No matter what his relationship with Kurama was, the fox would always force himself to the surface to protect their precious people if the threat was serious enough. This time though he knew Naruto could handle it. He only flashed the eyes to show his anger at the situation.

"Naruto what is it?" Naruto's head snapped around, his eyes coming to rest on his wife. Sakura stood rubbing the sleep from her eyes while waiting for an answer.

"Go back to bed Sakura. I will handle this." He turned around and was about to teleport from the room when he got a fist on the top of his head. "What was that for?"

'Didn't you just promise me TODAY that you wouldn't worry me anymore?! I. Am. Coming. With." With that said she spun around to get on her gear. Naruto knew he could leave right there but he also knew that if he did he would probably want to stay out of the village for awhile. In record speed, Sakura emerged from their room in her usual outfit. "Ok ready to go."

Naruto hugged Sakura and Yuki jumped onto his shoulder.

"Flying Thunder God!"

A flash of orange was the only thing marking their disappearance.

* * *

Kakashi formed his Chidori and was about to plunge it through Rykuga when his hand was suddenly surrounded by bone.

"Remember Kakashi, perfect control of my body. Sadly I'm not here to kill you. Today. Instead on need information on the advancing army. You have 30 seconds to tell me everything you know before Naruto shows up. If I'm not satisfied then I will kill you and your team, leaving it up to Naruto to cry over the loss of his son. Your 30 seconds starts now."

Kakashi knew that Rykuga was deadly serious. He also knew that if Hotaru died then Naruto would most likely go on a rampage. So instead of allowing Rykuga the satisfaction of causing said rampage, he began to tell Rykuga what he wanted to know.

After the 30 seconds were up Rykuga nodded and dropped Kakashi before he disappeared. An orange flash lit up the area signifying the arrival of their Hokage.

* * *

"So that's all that happened? No speech about insanity? No attempting to kill you all after you told him? He just left? That doesn't seem like Rykuga at all. We need to keep an eye on things and see how they turn out." Naruto was still puzzled but didn't question the turn of events. He could only be grateful for whatever caused Rykuga's behavior. Still it was very unnerving for him to be so...merciful.

"I agree but first can we please get out of here dad? Remember there is still an army out there." Hotaru watched as his dad chuckled and nodded. Everyone linked hands as Naruto uttered the three needed words.

"Flying Thunder God!"

For the second time, in a very brief period, the area became orange and the group of ninja (and one bird) disappeared.

* * *

The Reaper watched yet another man get sliced in half. He was getting agitated at Rykuga's interruption. It didn't help that every time they would cut off a limb that a new one would grow along with the limb growing another Rykuga. After the Rykuga in front of him absorbed all of the other Rykugas into himself, he had went berserk, cutting down well over 70 men in the last 5 minutes.

"Enough of this child's play Reaper. I have come to fight you, not these pathetic weaklings." As if to emphasize his words he shot a man in the head that has about to cut off his hand.

"Hm. So you have finally come to fight me huh? Well, this time there will be no escaping death. I'll finish you here." A chakra sword and shield materialized in his hands. Rykuga's hands and forearms turned iron before shifting their shape into two long blades that grew until they were dragging in the ground.

"Shall we?" With that the two rushed at each other, an entire army ready to witness the epic battle that was surely going to take place.

* * *

AN: Well there you have it. Rykuga actually showed mercy and the Reaper is even more messed up then before. Thanks for reading and please leave a review of your favorite part and/or any suggestions. Enjoy!

**Next Chapter: Rykuga vs the Reaper**


	28. Rykuga vs the Reaper

**Review Responses:**

**McAwzome: That's what I'm aiming for. This fight is LONG overdue!**

**meee: Well it seems your feelings have served you well! This fight's gonna put it ALL out there. Only thing you need to do is sit back and enjoy!**

**Mr.G: Leave it to you to talk about bacon Mr.G...IF THAT'S YOUR REAL NAME! Haha**

* * *

Rykuga swung his massive blade down on the Reaper with enough force to crack the ground beneath the Reaper. He quickly retaliated by shield-bashing Rykuga and attempted to sever his leg. Rykuga jumped onto the blade before fliping over the Reaper and lashed out behind him, scratching his target's shoulder.

'Well it's progress.'

Rykuga suddenly felt a scorching pain shoot down his back. He quickly realized that he was slashed by the chakra sword, the burning feeling was the chakra burning the wound shut. He quickly turned into iron as the sword came back through, surprising him by melting through the iron before he could move away. Rykuga quickly closed the wounds before turning his attention back to the fight. The Reaper twirled the sword in his hand before he pounded it against his shield. Rykuga took that as an invitation and charged his opponent, unleashing a flurry of kicks and slashes as he attempted to land another blow on his opponent. The Reaper was quickly becoming overwhelmed as Rykuga's strikes began to increase in ferocity and speed. To buy himself some time, he kicked Rykuga in the stomach to create some spacs. Rykuga slashed at his leg and succeeded in gashing him before quickly breaking the blade off in the wound. The Reaper realized, too late, what Rykuga had been trying to do as the blade quickly sunk into the wound, Rykuga's cells spreading throughout his leg. The Reaper reacted without thought as he quickly severed his leg. He began to create another leg out of chakra to act as a temporary replacement for the one now lying on the ground.

"The perks of an unlimited chakra supply. I'll get it fixed properly when I'm done wiping you out!" The Reaper rushed forward as Rykuga did the same.

* * *

Unaware of the massive clash happening not to far away, Ohnoki was staring at a map trying to finalize his battle plans. He had roughly estimated the Reaper's forces to number around 50,000 ninja and 80,000 samurai. He silently cursed his luck when he learned about the samurai. Leave it to the Reaper to take over not only the ninja village but also invade the home country and commander the samurai. It also didn't help that mercenaries had begun to bolster his ranks. Ohnoki's army numbered at about 60,000 shinobi that were ready to fight and die for their home. If the Reaper wanted Iwa, he would have to get past ever last one of them.

He gazed back towards the location of his village and began to hope that this wouldn't be his last fight.

* * *

Rykuga dove over a boulder behind him just as the chakra bullet hit. He ducked his head as he felt said bullet melt it's way through his cover. He popped his head up to fire off several rounds of his own and used them to close the distance between him and the Reaper. He knew that the longer this fight dragged on, the less likely he was to be the winner. He decided it was time to pull out all of the stops.

The Reaper looked on in amazement, something he hadn't felt for over a century, as the man in front of him began to grow shields of bone out of his forearms. The bone growth started to extend up his arms as bones began to protrude from his shins. Two wicked looking metal blades grew from his elbows and his knees were now sporting a cluster of iron spikes on each one. The bone had enveloped everything but Rykuga's head in a form of armor. The Reaper also noticed that Rykuga's vertebrate had grown outwards into individual blades. The armor now covered everything but his face.

"Now it's time for the Reaper's soul to be put to rest!" He quickly allowed the helmet to finish forming before he let out a laugh, pounding his bladed hands on the bone shields on each forearm. Before the Reaper could even blink, Rykuga's helmet opened a slot on his forehead wide enough for the Reaper to see his Eye of Insanity open. Seeing this startled the Reaper who knew he had removed the eye himself.

"How do you have that eye?!" Asked an obviously shaken Reaper.

"When you took my eye, you were taking cells of me and implanting them in your body. No matter how much you fuck with my body, my cells are still my own. So since you took cells from MY eye that allowed me to divide those cells which allowed them to recreate me, third eye and all." With that explanation done Rykuga charged the Reaper, attempting to run him through. The Reaper was surprised at how fast Rykuga had suddenly become and struggled to keep up his blocks to avoid the lightning fast strikes. Rykuga brought down his bladed hand and at the same time, attempted to knee his opponent with his spiked knees. The Reaper blocked the hand but had to jump back for the knee. He suddenly felt a searing pain, causing him to gasp and glance down. Rykuga had extended a spike when he had jumped, causing it to become embedded in the Reaper's stomach. The Reaper let out a pained cry as Rykuga pushed the spike in deeper. He was about to pull it out so his enemy would bleed out when said enemy suddenly brought the chakra shield down on the spike, snapping it in two. The spike retreated as the Reaper lowered his shield causing Rykuga to take an involuntary step back.

There in front of him was a chakra armor clad Reaper, complete with a massive blade on his back and a self-loading mini crossbow on both wrists. Rykuga grinned. This fight was gonna get good.

* * *

Naruto wasn't in a very good mood today. To start his day off he had received reports stating that mercenaries were now beginning to trickle into the Reaper's army causing their numbers to rise dramatically. Then he received several reports of Akatsuki activity.

'Where the fuck did Akatsuki come from?! We wiped them out long ago, why start coming back now?' That report had frustrated him greatly. It wasn't the fact that they were coming back that upset him, it was the fact that people supported their ideals to the point of resurrecting the dead group that pissed him off.

Now Akiko stood in his office giving him a mission report.

"The mission was completed without any problems. We were able to wipe out several bandit camps without sustaining a single injury." Akiko finished his report and handed his Hokage the paper.

"Ok anything else?" Naruto asked, quite distracted by the report in front of him.

"Actually there is one more thing," Naruto's head shot up at the amount of killer intent in the room and his eyes went wide at all of the paper bombs on Akiko's chest. "Die"

A bright light flashed, followed by darkness.

* * *

Sakura walked beside her son, Hotaru, and Nabitora. They were all on their way to the tower to see the same person. Sakura nearly had a heart attack when Akiko landed next to Nabitora, munching on bacon the whole time.

"Sup everybody?" Akiko looked carefree until Sakura smashed him in the face.

"DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!" Akiko gently lifted himself out of the rubble before Sakura continued much more calmly now. "We are all on our way to see my husband."

"Mind if I join you? I gotta give him a boring mission report anyway." Akiko looked at Sakura as he waited for an answer.

"Yeah sure as long-" An explosion ripped through the air. Sakura turned in horror to see the Hokage Mansion collapse in on itself. Tears began to roll down her eyes.

"NARUTO!"

* * *

Rykuga's blades were currently locked up with the Reaper's sword and shield. Rykuga was bleeding profusely and his clones were currently engaging the Reaper's samurai, cuttinv through them like a knife through butter. To end the stalemate, Rykuga quickly flipped over the Reaper while lashing out with the blades on his back. He knew he scored a deep hit when some blood splashed onto his now crumbling bone armor. The Reaper was cut up pretty bad too. The only reason he hadn't bleed out was the chakra patches he was able to create but his stamina was running low.

"Let's end this!" Rykuga shouted as he charged the Reaper. He had transformed his hands back and was now ducking under the Reaper's massive blade. The Reaper swung again only to have Rykuga jump onto the blade and run at his opponent. The Reaper quickly dropped his sword and pointed both hands at Rykuga, palms facing his advancing opponent.

"Chakra Style: Dual Chakra Cannon Barrage!"

Massive chakra bombs shot forward towards all of the Rykugas. They all disappeared in superheated explosions, leaving one standing.

"Go. This fight is over. Return to face me when your better trained." The Reaper turned around and Rykuga charged only for a chakra hand to reach into his body. He felt his chakra draining and tried to fight the drowsiness that was descending on him. Sleep finally overtook Rykuga and the hand was removed.

"Sir why would you spare him?" The samurai all looked confused and angry.

"He was the first person in 200 years to give me a real fight. I want to see what he could do in another 5. Now prepare to camp here for a few days to rest up." He dragged Rykuga's unconscious body to a cliff several hundred yards away.

"I'll be waiting." With that said he threw Rykuga over the edge, enjoying the sound that was made when his body smashed against the cliff.

* * *

Sakura helped sift through the wreckage when she suddenly seen a tuft of blonde hair and a hand.

"He's over here!" She quickly got down and began moving rubble until she could see his face. One eye was closed but she could see the red in his other eye.

"Kurama is Naruto ok?!"

"Yeah...I took over just...in time...I-I need to rest. We'll be fine just whatever you do...no hospitals." Kurama/Naruto passed out and Sakura began to laugh and cry. Hotaru soon joined her while loud cheers rang out. The mood quickly darkened when someone sadly called out "Got another dead one...". Their Hokage may be safe but this gruesome work was far from over.

* * *

AN: Well here is the (hopefully) epic fight between Rykuga and the Reaper. I hope you liked it and andlike always please leave a review about your favorite part and/or suggestions. This first book is nearing it's finish but I'm already working on some of the second one so I should be able to release it soon after this one's finished. Enjoy!


	29. The Calm Before the Storm

**Review Responses:**

**McAwzome: No Riku is not joining the Akatsuki. Also the Executioners Blade is off the table. I'm not having Riku go grave robbing for your twisted fantasies haha.**

* * *

Naruto's head felt like several explosive tags went off next to it. 'Oh wait that's exactly what happened.' He moved slightly and gritted his teeth in pain. He looked under the blanket to see that, even with Kurama's enhanced healing, he was still missing pieces of skin. Some were bad enough that people could still see bits of bone under the exposed muscle. Although, given that had only been two days he thought he was healing quite nicely. When he tried to sit up again he felt someone put a gentle hand on his chest, holding him still. When he looked at the hand, even through two almost closed eyes, he could make out the green glow and could feel the soothing feeling of his wife's chakra. He then noticed, and felt, another hand move up to cover his eyes; still emitting the healing chakra.

"Why must you always push yourself?" Yup that was definitely Sakura. He could tell by the annoyed (yet loving) tone that he knew all too well. He smiled weakly before he went to answer.

"Well" he stopped, shocked at how raspy his voice sounded. He opened his now healed eyes and tried to look for a glass of water. Hotaru opened the door to find his father staring at his water. Hotaru's happy feelings quickly faded as he realized he was in for another long walk to the lobby. He handed his glass over with a sigh and left to get another. When Naruto was done guzzling down the water he tried again.

"Well I wouldn't be your loveable idiot if I didn't." He flashed a smile big enough to melt any retort and she just smiled as her eyes began to water.

"I was so worried Naruto! When the Kyuubi wasn't able to heal you all the way I thought you were in serious trouble. I've been doing what I can to heal you but I can't keep this up. I'm so low on chakra that I'm starting to see doubles!" Naruto's deep blue eyes never left her emerald ones as he pulled her into his embrace. He knew the past two days had to have been long ones for her and he couldn't do anything about that. He could, however, make it up to her now.

Hotaru heard his mom's quiet sobs as she finally broke down. He smiled and left to find Riku and Misaku, determined to let his parents have their moment. His smile quickly faded when he remembered the last 'moment' he heard them having. With that thought sending a shudder through him, he raced off to find his friends.

"You know Sakura I've noticed something." Naruto's face was quite serious when he looked at her.

"What is it?" Sakura said with a slight sniffle.

"You have been crying quite a bit recently."

"Naruto!" He heard the growl and knew that if he wasn't hurt, he would've been in a world of pain right now.

'Thank god for injuries!"

* * *

The Reaper slowly stretched out to make sure everything had been re-attached correctly. When he was satisfied that nothing would come off he bwgan to try and stand up.

"No, no, no, no, don't do that my Lord!" The panicked medic ninja held out his hands to stop him.

"And why not?" The Reaper was irritated at the man but decided to give him a chance to explain his actions.

"Your limbs have only just been re-attached to your body. Even with the accelerated healing of medical ninjutsu, you will still need a week of rest before you continue on with your campaign." The Reaper nodded quietly before he gave a flick of his wrist, dismissing the pesky doctor.

"Well Naruto Uzumaki, it seems you have a little bit before you can meet these 'new toys'" He threw a casual glance towards the corner of the room. Two people stood there that he hoped would crush Naruto to the point of total surrender.

* * *

Rykuga sat up feeling extremely fatigued and in a good deal of pain. He tried to check the state of his body but found his chakra was too low. He silently cursed his luck as he realized where he was: the bottom of a canyon. By the way his body felt he would guess he probably hit every jagged rock on the way down.

'I can not allow him to get away! This is my one chance to kill that bastard and finally prove that I am the stronger one!' Rykuga never took the time to evaluate his thoughts or plans. Instead he began to feebly drag his way to the cliff side and began the grueling task of climbing, without chakra, to the top.

Rykuga was determined to be part of this final battle!

* * *

Riku glared at Hotaru, both boys slightly out of breath, and continued to formulate a strategy to beat his best friend.

'Misaku is somewhere in the woods behind me, hopefully preparing for her next attack. I have already worn away some of Hotaru's stamina and chakra but considering both are like his father's were at his age, I don't think that makes a difference. The only thing I can do is to keep up the attack and hope Misaku jumps in on time.' He began to form hand signs for a Fireball jutsu but was stopped by Hotaru's hand. He blinked a few times before his Sharingan caught the currents of air swirling around him.

"Wind Armor huh?" Hotaru just nodded his head slightly before he cocked his fist back and sent Riku flying, only slightly enhancing the already wind-enhanced punch. Riku smashed through a tree before he was able to find his footing and launch himself back at Hotaru. Hotaru noticed his friend's Sharingan began to change shape.

"Pulling out the Mangekyou huh. Well bring it on!" He sped towards Riku and channeled a massive amount of wind chakra around his right hand. Riku's skeletal system of Susanoo formed and pulled back it's right hand. They both collided as Misaku tried in vain to stop the collision. A cracking sound resonated through the air and Misaku nervously waited to see the results. A strong gust of wind picked up and blew the dust away. The sight before Misaku shocked her. Hotaru stood slightly shaking his right hand as he held his left out to help Riku up.

Riku just stared at him, disbelief written all over his face. "How?"

Hotaru chuckled as he answered, "When you train with someone long enough, you tend to learn their strengths and weaknesses. In your case, you focused all of your energy into the right fist thus causing the rest of your Susanoo to weaken. All I had to do was duck underneath your hit and deliver the punch to your Susanoo's weakened ribs. For a future reference: try not to focus too much on one thing. It's something that my mom and dad always taught me."

Riku began to laugh as he took his friend's hand. Misaku let out the breath she had been involuntarily holding in as she watched them laughing. She relaxed her hands and canceled her jutsu as she went down to greet the two boys.

"Well that was an intense end to an intense practice. What do you guys say to some ramen, my treat!" Misaku's question was met with the cheers and excited whoops of the two boys as they all raced to their favorite ramen shop.

* * *

_2 days later_

Naruto walked out of the hospital with his family. No matter how many times Sakura had seen it, the Nine-tail's healing power was always incredible to her. 2 days ago he had still had major 3rd degree burns that should have taken several months to scar over. Instead two days later, between her and Kurama's abilities, he didn't even have a scar to show that the encounter ever happened. But thanks to the paper bombs destroying their house, they now had to find another place to stay until the Hokage Mansion was repaired. Thankfully Yamato was kind enough to create a temporary house for them on the outskirts of town. Naruto offered to come back to work but the Council insisted they could handle it and that he needed time to recover still. Naruto tried to argue but was easily outvoted. So now he had the rest of the week off to spend with his family.

They spent most of the day just wandering the town, looking for things to do. They had eaten at a sushi shop along the way and, much to Sakura's annoyance, Naruto and Hotaru started an impromptu eating competition. In the end, Naruto came in first by 5 plates with Hotaru coming in a close second. All of the other competitors had been absolutely destroyed, never standing a chance. Surprisingly, the shop owner covered the bill saying that he was just glad to see the Hokage was alive and safe. They had received the same welcoming words at each place they went. It drove Naruto nuts, not being able to pay for things; it made him feel weird, but the shop owners insisted that it was 'on the house' or 'already taken care of'. Naruto thanked each one of the personally, not knowing what else to do to pay them back.

The exhausted family finally found their way to their temporary house, just wanting to fall over sleeping. Naruto damn near kicked down the door and almost had a heart attack when he saw his friends there, waiting for him. Turns out they had decided to throw a "Glad your ok" party for Naruto. He was nearly moved to tears at how kind everyone had been. Most of the time he was too busy with paper work and the other duties required of the Hokage so seeing how kind everyone was to him really moved him. He turned around to see Sakura give a little "Surprise Naruto" and a big hug. He quickly wrapped his arms around Sakura and kissed her. He pulled his son into the embrace before turning around, family in his arms, and addressed his guests.

"Thank you everyone. You don't know how much this means to me. I don't want to keep you waiting long but I need to say one thing: Thank you. From the bottom of my heart thank you for being there with me every step of the way." For the rest of the night Naruto wasn't the Seventh Hokage, he was just Naruto.

* * *

Ohnoki was not having a party. In fact it was quite the opposite as he gazed out over the advancing army. He broke out into a cold sweat when he seen almost another 30,000 mercenaries had joined the Reaper's ranks. He had sent a messenger back to basically plead with the daimyo to send his samurai forces. Now it was just up to the shinobi of Iwa to hold their own. They could only hope that his messenger hawk reached the Hokage in time. For now they would have to face the coming horde themselves.

* * *

AN: The big battle is about to begin! With only 3 nations (technically 2 if you count Sand and Leaf as 1) to stand against the Reaper. Please leave a review of your favorite part and/or any suggestions. Enjoy!


	30. Iwa vs the Horde

**Review Responses:**

**Not Eiseah: Well that was...enlightening. Made me laugh pretty hard though! As for the next book, hopefully the start won't be rushed like this one haha.**

**meee: Okay I may kill of some important people but Naruto? I would ne...okay I would most likely never kill him off. Also thanks for the 'nice chapter'. Hope you keep on reading and enjoy! Also I hope to see you as a reviewer for the next book too!**

* * *

For the second time in one day, Ohnoki was forced to use his Particle Style to cut through the Reaper's ranks. The forces of Iwa had been engaged for the past 4 hours now and things were already looking bad. Ohnoki's forces had suffered 10,000 casualties while taking on the first was of enemy soldiers consisting of the 30,000 mercenaries and about 40,000 samurai. Even though there was no shinobi in the forces the first wave was made up of, the sheer numbers alone had allowed them to make such a dent in Ohnoki's army. During the whole battle Ohnoki refused to be anywhere but the front lines. It had motivated and now they were finishing off the remnants of the attack. With the Rock's forces down by 10,000, Ohnoki couldn't help but grudgingly admire the samurai's impressive use of chakra enhanced swords. Now he watched as the Reaper's entire army emerged over the hill just out of range for jutsu. He saw a flurry of activity before 20,000 samurai emerged at he front of his lines and, to Ohnoki's horror, released a shower of arrows. He heard several calls of jutsus behind him when a massive dome encased the army. Ohnoki's smirk was quickly wiped off his face when he felt a spray of blood on the side of his face. He slowly turned his head and his fears were confirmed by the sight of Akatsuchi grabbing at the arrow protruding from his throat. He heard Kurotsuchi gasp and pulled Ohnoki down...all the way underground. When she finally let him surface he felt infuriated. He seen 5,000 more bodies with several arrows in each.

"How...how did the arrows get through?" He looked at the arrow he had picked up and his gaze settled on the arrowhead. It was made out of chakra conducting metal. Ohnoki turned to see the samurai preparing another volley of arrows. He realized that he had only a few seconds before he lost several thousand more men. He had two impossibly bad choices: stay here and get cut down in a matter of minutes or charge head on into the enemy forces with everything they had. It would be the one and only fight to decide the fate of the Rock. He made the hardest decision of his life with all of one word: "Charge!"

* * *

The Reaper chuckled to himself as the ninja of Iwa charged forward, fully prepared to make this the first and last major fight for the Hidden Rock Village.

"So naive." He turned to the two figures behind him. He looked over the one to the right of him and motioned for him to step forward.

"I want you to take the rest of the sword-wielding samurai and charge their advancing forces. Just buy me some time to complete the full summon then you can retreat. I have a feeling that they haven't forgotten about you." The man bowed and turned to disappear into the ranks. The Reaper was thoroughly impressed by the jutsu he developed. Like the Reanimation jutsu the affected person is able to regenerate, has unlimited chakra, and retains their memories. Unlike the Reanimation jutsu, those memories don't matter. The only thing that matters is that the orders they're given are carried through, even if they hurt the ones they love. At this point the man had re-emerged from the army with the samurai in tow. He waved two fingers forward and the samurai silently carried out the order to charge. As the two forces closed in on each other the shinobi began to go through hand signs and prepared their jutsu as fhe samurai ran chakra through their swords. The archers released another volley but Ohnoki refused to look back, to stop moving. When the two forces were in range of ninja tools, the shinobi quickly capitalized on the fact and a wall of blades met the approaching samurai head on. The man leading the samurai sent his own kunai at Ohnoki, only to have Kurotsuchi leap in the way, taking the kunai to the shoulder where it was deeply embedded. The man suddenly appeared in front of Kurotsuchi and slammed a rasengan into her chest hard enough to nearly rip through her.

"Well Ohnoki, long time no see." The man's blue eyes locked onto Ohnoki's. He shook his head in disbelief, a bad move due to thefact that a samurai was just about to cut him in half only to be stopped by the man's outstretched hand. "No. The Fence Sitter is mine. Ever since we met on thd battlefield, i lookex forward to this day. This fight IS destined. Only now the outcome is to be decided." A loud roar erupted from the throats of the shinobi who attempted to attack the blue eyed man, only to be stopped by the samurai forces forming a massive circle around the duo. The two combatants gazed at each other until Ohnoki finally spoke.

"Your right. This fight is destined. Whoever wins here will see your son anyways, Minato." Minato just smiled and drew a kunai.

"I look forward to it." The two opponents charged. Kage versus former Kage.

* * *

Naruto was livid. The Reaper had the audacity to attack now?! He was going to teach that bastard a lesson! He began to pace and finally kicked the chair out of the window in his rage. He threw open the door and marched past several concerned shinobi. Naruto knew he looked both pissed and determined. He also knew that he never wanted it to come to this. Peace was a fleeting goal, only achievable by those willing to persue it in what would likely be a never-ending chase. He, however, was one of those people. He marched out onto the roof and activated a voice projection jutsu.

"People of Konoha, i have never been very good at planned speeches so I'm going to make this short. I have always promised you peace and yet an enemy has arose that threatens the very foundation of the ninja way. He has swept two countries away and has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Now he threatens our allies in Iwa. Well I say no more! So I ask of you, ninja of Konoha and Suna, to join forces and march to meet this enemy on the field of battle. I will not force anyone to go but if need be, I will help Iwa myself. Anyone who wishes to join me will meet at the front gate in one hour." He deactivated the jutsu and turned to get ready.

One way or another, Naruto Uzumaki was going to war. Now it was up to the rest of the Leaf and Sand to either join him or stay out of his way.

* * *

The Reaper was extremely concentrated on the seal inching it's way across the ground. Due to the extreme difficulty of this summon, he had to slowly guide the formation of the sealing kanji. This was a more perfect form of his summon and it needed all of his concentration to perform. The red sealing scripture spread and the tip of the 5 meter long kanji began to extend, slowly, into a circle.

It was almost complete.

* * *

Ohnoki struggled to breathe as the hand tightened around his throat. He saw the blue sky before he felt an incredible pain shoot through his back. The ground cratered as Minato slammed Ohnoki into the ground. Minato twisted around and attempted to slam a rasengan into Ohnoki's body only to be meet by a stone fist to the face. The Stone Golem Ohnoki created put itself between the former Fourth Hokage and the current Tsuchikage. Minato wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth and threw a kunai between the Golem's legs before he ran forward. He slid under one fist before jumping to do a front flip onto the next one. He ran up the arm and slammed a rasengan threw it's face. Ohnoki took advantage of Minato's fight to use his Particle Style.

"Good bye Minato Namikaze." He fired the beam at the golem causing it to disintegrate.

"Yes good bye is right." Ohnoki looked down, eyes wide, to see the swirling blue orb rising to meet him.

'Damn...'

* * *

The circle of kanji was finally complete. The Reaper looked up to see a massive explosion. He casually noticdd that only Minato was left fighting out of the 20'000 that he had sent and shrugged. They served as a means to an end and that end was this jutsu. He sunk his five fingers into the ground before he slowly pulled a pillar of black stone with red lines etched into it.

"Reaper Summoning Style: Halls of the Shinigami!"

The pillars intricate lines began to pull outwards to reveal that the black stone was a locking mechanism. With that removed the ground began to swirl in a whirlpool of rock and dirt. Thousands of hands began to crawl over the edge to recieve their commands.

The dead were now his to command.

"Finish this fight. Now!" He summoned his massive sword and held it forward in the universal 'charge' sign. He summoned his Chakra armor and rushed forward. This was going to be a slaughter that he refused to miss. That is until an army of Rykugas crashed into the rear of the charge.

'Shit!'

"GIVE ME THE REAPER!"

* * *

Naruto gazed over his forces in awe. Over 120,000 shinobi of the Sand and Leaf stood before him. Even the samurai army of the Fire Daimyo was there bring his army count to an unbelievable 300,000 soldiers! His friends were all around him with Sakura's right arm looped through his left and Gaara standing to his right. He grudgingly let go of his wife's arm and turned to look at the three children behind him. Team 7 refused to be left behind and now they would see the horrors of war. He gave his son a sad grin but he vowed to keep them safe. He turned back to the army before saying 4 simple words. 4 words that would make or break the shinobi world.

"Let's go to war!"

* * *

AN: The first book is rapidly approaching it's finish. Iwa now must face an army of the resurrected and Rykuga has joined the fray. Please leave a review of your favorite part and/or any suggestions. Enjoy!


	31. Rykuga's Past, Naruto Arrives

**Review Responses:**

**Might be Eiseah: Glad I could do that haha. Also I'm going to assume that you were referencing the Censored Count video.**

* * *

Ohnoki continued to wait for the blow that never came. He gradually opened his eyes and was shocked at the sight before him. A simple sword had stopped the rasengan using only the blade. His eyes followed the blade to look at the wielder.

"We samurai stood by the shinobi during the Fourth Great Ninja War. We will not turn our backs on them now." Ohnoki looked on in shock as General Mifune slide the blade and removed Minato's hand. Minato leapt back for space and to buy time for his hand to regenerate.

"You samurai are out of your league. Turn back or I'll be forced to kill you." Minato glared at the man who calmly retook his stance.

"Lord Tsuchikage, Ohnoki, you may lead the samurai and shinobi into battle. I will take care of the former Hokage." Ohnoki nodded and re-issued the order to charge.

"Well Lord Fourth this is a fight I have been waiting for my entire life. Even more so than my rematch with Hanzo of the Salamander." Mifune re-adjusted his blade and Minato charged.

* * *

The Reaper stabbed one of the Rykugas only to have him disappear into a puff of smoke.

"Wha- Shadow Clones?!" This was new. Rykuga NEVER used Shadow Clones. It was like that all throughout the battlefield. Rykugas were disappearing left and right in clouds of smoke. He needed to find the real one. Fast.

The Reaper began slicing his way through the clones, hoping to find the real one hiding among them. Instead he caught a glimpse of one of the Rykugas meditating at the very back.

'That has to be the real one!' The Reaper renewed his attack with new-found vigor, determined to reach Rykuga before he completed what ever he was trying to do. Several dozen more Shadow Clones stood between him and his goal when he caught movement in the back. All of the Shadow Clones stopped moving as Rykuga's limbs began to elongate and thicken. The sounds of breaking bones and ripping tendons was heard very clearly.

"No...He can't be!" The Reaper knew he had to stop him now. If this was what he thought it was then things were going to get really bad, really fast.

* * *

Rykuga had never felt such pain in his entire life. His bones were snapping and growing, ripping away from the tendons and muscles as they grew. He screamed in pain as the final tendons tore away. He blacked out momentarily as the final bones grew. His tendons began to grow and thicken as they grew to re-attach to his newly sized bones. Rykuga knew his skin was ripped to shreds because he could feel the air blowing on his torn muscles. Everything began to readjust and connect to the new bones before the final step: the muscles.

Rykuga felt an incredible surge of power as his muscles began to grow exponentially. At first it was a slow growth but as soon as everything was reconnected they began to grow more dense and thick. He barely noticed the looks of shock and terror on the enemies faces as he began to rise, muscles still growing. Finally, he felt the growth stop and the skin stretched over his exposed body to complete the transformation. Like the Super Expansion jutsu, he was SO glad that his clothes grew too. He didn't need to be ripping people apart naked.

As Rykuga rose he couldn't help but admire the new form. He now stood a little over 15 feet tall and was rippling with muscle. His muscles were dense enough to put his weight at around 3,000 pounds. His forearms were almost as wide as a grown man's chest. He stood to his full height to see the terrified looks on his enemies faces.

"This is the power of the Azu. We are the true masters of the Berserking ninjutsu and this is our power!" He felt fairly proud of himself. He finally mastered the perfect form of the Berserker ninjutsu. No one in the history of the Azu clan had been able to do this and yet he finally accomplished it. But overwhelming that sense of pride was the need to kill. He wanted, no, he NEEDED to shed blood. He wanted to test his new powers too.

A mercenary charged forward to attack and received a flick to the forehead...that tore his body in half and turned his skull into a spray of red.

"Oh THIS is going to be fun!"

Rykuga lowered his shoulders and got ready to charge. It was gonna get nice and bloody.

* * *

Naruto jumped back, cursing the Reaper the whole time. His foe had anticipated that he might attempt to step in so he sent every mercenary, and half of his total shinobi, to engage Naruto's forces. He knew they wouldn't stop him, they were just there to buy him time. Naruto also cursed Ohnoki for sending in spies that were obviously placed under a genjutsu to throw off their reports.

"Sir the left line suffered heavy casualties from the ambush. We've lost about 30,000 from the left but we have finished off the remaining enemy troops." The scout looked out of breath from running and giving his report so soon after fighting.

"The left flank was samurai correct?" Naruto's mind quickly thought about how bad another ambush could be. He vaguely noticed the man nod his head.

'We are a few hours away Ohnoki. Just hold on.'

* * *

The Reaper watched Rykuga take off in his direction, bating soldiers aside like a horse swatted flies. He continued to run down everyone in his path stepping on anyone he could. The Reaper couldn't help but notice he was shaking slightly...out of fear. Fear that was something he hadn't felt in a while. In all honesty, he never wanted to feel it again either. Rykuga was closing the distance way to quickly in the Reaper's eyes so he focused his remaining reserve troops on attacking the approaching berserker.

The Reaper watched in grim fascination as Rykuga grabbed a shinobi from mid-jump and hurled him into his comrades, a fountain of blood being thd only thing that showed each impact. Rykuga was brutally efficient at killing and his one goal was the Reaper's head being crushed by his own two hands. Rykuga would refuse to settle for any less then bathing in his blood.

"STOP HIM AT ALL COSTS!"

The almighty Reaper...was terrified.

* * *

Rykuga felt the rush of power as he crushed yet another foe beneath his foot. The spray of blood just urged him on for more. He needed that blood to keep flowing. He WANTED it to flow. Rykuga splattered yet another man's torso with a kick, the shower of blood just being another reward. But his eyes never wavered from his goal: the Reaper.

It was the thought of his blood running through his fingers, begging for mercy, that drove him forward. The man that orphaned him and left him for dead, the man that made him betray the village he loved in pursuit of the fleeting goal called revenge, he stood before him absolutely terrified and he couldn't wait to hear him beg for mercy like his parents did.

Rykuga leapt into the air as high as he could. He pulled his fist back and launched himself at the ground.

"YOU DIE TODAY!"

* * *

Naruto felt the ground shake before the shockwave knocked the advancing army down.

'What power...We need to hurry!'

Naruto was suddenly faced by 20 Rykugas causing him to slide to a stop. There was a quiet build up of tension as the two legendary warriors glared at each other before one of the Rykugas cautiously raised a hand.

"Naruto please just stop... I know you hate me for everything that I've done but that's what I needed. Your hatred prevented you from coming after me which allowed me to try to complete my goals. Now I have a request for you: stop. Just stop. The Reaper and myself are currently engaged, as you felt from that shockwave, and anyone in their paths will be decimated. We've been created to stop you with any means necessary to keep you away from this fight so you can live. Please just-" The Rykuga was suddenly consumed in black flames along with all of the rest of them.

"Damn it! Riku, Misaku why the FUCK did you do that!" Naruto turned to yell at them with fury in his eyes.

"Don't blame my kids you idiot. If your going to be mad, take it out on the right person." Naruto stopped cold.

"Th-that voice...it can't be..." Naruto turned in the direction of the voice to be greeted by a sifht he hadn't seen in almost a year. Blue eyes meet black ones as the two men locked gazes.

"D...dad?" Misaku and Riku both asked, voices cracking as their eyes began to water.

"Sasuke?" Naruto, Sakura, and Ino all voiced at the same time. He nodded his head.

"Th-there's no way! I saw you die!" Naruto was on the verge of tears. This was one sick genjutsu.

"No you idiot. You ever stop and think about the use of genjutsu? I know it was harsh but I had to fake my death. I wouldn't have been able to help Rykuga if I didn't."

"WHAT! You helped Rykuga?! Why!" Naruto was infuriated.

"He explained it all to me, starting with the murder of his family and his abandonment of the Leaf all the way to his goals. At first I was pissed at him but as his story continued, I thought about how hard life was for me and you and I realized that his past falls between mine and yours in severity. So I decided to help him. Now more explanations can come later. Now we need to help Rykuga otherwise the Reaper will make mincemeat out of him. Rykuga can't tell that the Reaper is just amplifying his own fear to make it seem like he's terrified. We need to hurry!" With that, Sasuke leapt off towards the battlefield. Naruto was the first to snap out of his daze.

"Ok everyone. You heard the man. Lets move!"

* * *

Rykuga was officially out of it. His rampage was fueled by the bloodlust to the point that he was killing everything, both friend and foe. He lifted one of Mifune's samurai above his head and tore him in half with each of his thumb and pointer fingers. He momentarily allowed the blood to wash over him before he felt his calf get tickled. He dropped the body and looked down to see several soldiers trying to stab him, their blades breaking and bending due to the density of the muscles. He casually swung his foot and was rewarded with the feeling of warm blood splatter on his foot.

"Is this all you've got? I guess I won't even have to enhance my blows with chakra." Rykuga punched the ground. A massive crack formed and magma began to spew out as it split open. People were being burnt to nothingness before several earth jutsus closed the ground. Rykuga crouched again before he charged, bowling through the ranks ahead of his like they weren't even there. He located the Reaper once again and turned to head after him. He faintly heard the cries of another army joining the battle before he noticed three Leaf shinobi cut the Reaper off. He refused to allow these strangely familiar ninja kill his goal so he pushed forward, ignoring the crunches and screams of pain beneath his feet.

* * *

Naruto noticed the 15 foot behemoth pick up speed when they appeared.

"That's Rykuga!?" Naruto and Sakura both turned to Sasuke and seen him nod.

"It's his family's Berserker Style. The were famous, or rather infamous, for using it to wipe out three smaller ninja villages using only two people. It seems that he isn't fully in control of the bloodlust that comes with it. Prepare yourselves."

Rykuga broke through the lines and smashed his hand into the ground, using it to launch himself into the air. He brought his two hands together above his head and smashed into the ground.

The battle had begun.

* * *

AN: Okay want to get this out of the way quickly. When you think of Rykuga's Berserker form, think of the Hulk mixed with the Gears of War Berserker combined. Now multiply said combination by 20 and condense that all down to 15 feet. Now you can roughly guess Rykuga's new look. Please leave a review of your favorite part and/or any suggestions. Enjoy!


	32. The Losses of War

**Review Responses:**

**McAwzome: Yup that's right, Sasuke is back! The only thing I can say/do to the Ino comment is this: Facepalm.**

**Eiseah: Thank you, I'm glad you thought the chapter was cool. Also yes, Rykuga pretty much did say "Fuck it" when he went on his killing spree.**

* * *

The ground exploded from the impact of Rykuga's fists. A shockwave shot out in all directions and the ground cracked in a spider web of fissures about 50 meters out in all directions. When the dust settled, the ground at the point of impact was now at least 10 feet deep. All of this was sheer strength, no chakra enhancement in any way. Naruto helped Sakura off the ground as Sasuke was wiping some dust off of his clothes. The Reaper was already clad in his Chakra Armor and had his dual blades out. Rykuga grinned, revealing a mouth of sharpened teeth, and licked his lips in excitement. His eagerness to shed blood made Naruto doubt Sasuke's story about Rykuga.

"Naruto watch out. Rykuga may regret betraying us but in his Berserker Mode his bloodlust is so high that it can actually take over and dictate his actions. It takes a lot of practice to control it. Practice that Rykuga does not have." Sasuke glanced at Naruto to make sure his message got through: Rykuga will kill everything. Naruto nodded before they both returned their attention back to Rykuga and the Reaper. Rykuga was still grinning but was now slowly advancing.

"Well Naruto. It seems that the two I resurrected will work on both you and your wife so-" The Reaper snapped his fingers and one person appeared, shrouded in a cloak. "-Where is the other one?" As if to answer his question, an explosion sounded in the background as two lone figures fought on a distant hill.

"Tch, seems I'll have to make do with one. Oh well. You can drop the cloak now." Said cloak fell backwards and fluttered to the ground. Naruto and Sakura's eyes both widened and their breaths were caught in their throats.

"Well brat, never thought you'd see me again did you?" The blonde women stated with a smirk.

"M-master?" Sakura stepped forward to get to Tsunade before Naruto grabbed her arm.

"Sakura don't. The Reaper resurrected her for this exact reason. He's trying to throw us off and have Granny kill us. We-we have to fight her." Naruto's voice broke a little as he spoke, it was obvious he was trying to hold back the tears in his eyes.

"Naruto I'll fight her." Naruto was about to voice his protest when his wife spoke again.

"Naruto I trained with her. I know her moves better than anyone here. I'm the only one that stands a chance." She turned back and gave Naruto a sad smile. He didn't trust his voice enough for more than two words.

"Be careful." Naruto nodded to Sakura as she turned and rushed Tsunade. Tsunade leapt away and lead Sakura out of Naruto's line of sight.

'I have to trust her.' Suddenly, the ground began to shake like a giant was walking. He looked up to see that, yes indeed, a giant was walking. In fact the giant was barreling towards them with one goal: Blood. Naruto jumped to the right while Sasuke went to engage the Reaper. Rykuga, despite his size, did a complete back flip and tried to crush Sasuke beneath his foot. At the same time he tried to hammer the Reaper into the ground. Naruto began running at them while gathering Nature energy. He almost thanked the Reaper for the ability. Thanks to his unlimited amount of chakra, due to the broken seal, he could take in as much Nature energy as he wanted and in would be unable to overwhelm his own chakra.

The familiar orange tint formed around his eyes as he jumped forward into the fray. He laced his punches with the Nature energy around him to increase the range of his punches. Rykuga attempted to kick him out of mid-air while simultaneously trying to smash his other opponents. Sasuke jumped over another backhand as the Reaper leapt at him, trying to cut him in half. Sasuke flooded the seal at his side with chakra and a sword materialised in his hands. He blocked the Reaper's down stroke and kicked him back to avoid the second blade. while the Reaper was still airborne, Rykuga smashed him with an open palm and shattered the Chakra Armor before he was launched into the treeline. Naruto ran up Rykuga's arm and smashed him in the face which, surprisingly, forced Rykuga down onto one knee. The crazed berserker grinned and wiped away the trickle of blood before he was suddenly in front of Naruto. Naruto cursed realizing that he was staring at the after image of the kneeling Rykuga.

A purple hand plucked him out of the air before in threw him backwards. Rykuga, seeing that his inital victim was suddenly gone, turned his rage at the Susanoo in front of him. Sasuke infused the Susanoo's sword with the Amaterasu before he went at Rykuga. Rykuga dodged with a surprising amount of agility before he shot his right hand forward and it connected with the purple being...shattering it immediately. Sasuke went soaring backwards before Rykuga appeared under him and punched him into the air. Rykuga jumped up and backhanded Sasuke into the ground, cratering it. Naruto's heart stopped when he seen the blows land. There was no way Sasuke was moving after that. To add insult to injury, Rykuga landed on the immobile form of Sasuke. He felt Sasuke's legs break on impact and he ground his heel into the destroyed legs, eliciting a scream of pain from the Uchiha.

* * *

Sakura ducked as the tree behind her exploded, showering her in wood chips and splinters of the former tree. She shot her hand up and was satisfied when she heard the grunt of pain. Tsunade landed on all fours as she tried to regain her balance.

"Well Sakura, I see that your strength has improved. How about your technique." Tsunade ran forward which caused Sakura to start backing up as she weaved around the potentially lethal blows. Finally she found her opening and unleashed a barrage of punishing blows. Tsunade fell back, her stomach and throat completely crushed. Sakura's feeling of success was crushed when Tsunade's body began to regenerate.

"You remember the Reanimation don't you Sakura?" Tsunade spoke when her throat was regenerated. "Well this is like that." Tsunade cracked her knuckles and started to advance.

"Well, master, it seems I'll just have to beat you out of existence.

* * *

Kakashi, Itachi, and Team 7 fought off another wave of enemies.

"Hey Hotaru what are you at?" Riku casually questioned as he threw a glance over his shoulder, just before ducking and plunging his sword into another enemy. "I'm at 45."

Hotaru let out a snort before he answered, "I'm at 96. You got a long ways to go!"

Misaku laughed as a wave of wooden spikes rose out of the ground and impaled several more people. "You boys should watch and learn. Those 5 put me at 177." The boys groaned at the amount of people Misaku had beaten. Before either one could say anything an explosion ripped apart the top of a hill.

"Team 7 go check that out. We can handle things here." Kakashi watched his students nod and leap away before he turned his attention back on the fight in front of him.

"Kamui!"

* * *

Mifune struggled to get back on his feet and picked up his sword. He looked at his opponent to see the damage he'd done. He was pleased to see that at least one tag had landed on his opponents left hand. However, he was not pleased to see his opponent had severed the hand and it was now regenerating. He took up his stance again when three children landed in front of him.

"General Mifune...Is that who I think it is?"

'He is Sasuke's son. Always right down to business.' Mifune almost grinned at the thought.

"Yes Riku. Our opponent is the Fourth Hokage." Mifune noticed Hotaru was on the verge of tears.

"G-grandpa? Damn you Reaper! I swear if my father doesn't kill you I will!" Hotaru was clearly enraged but a wave of different emotions washed across his face. Eventually he settled for a look of grim determination. "Let's get this over with."

* * *

Naruto felt an incredible amount of pain as the backhand from Rykuga connected. He could feel the bones breaking all along his body as he practically rag-dolled across the ground. He was SO glad that Kurama was healing his bones already because if he wasn't then Naruto wouldn't have been able to roll out of the way of Rykuga's foot that was trying to crush him.

He flipped to his feet and created 60 Shadow Clones while he started to form his Rasenshuriken. Rykuga easily batted away the clones as he made his way for Naruto. Naruto suddenly felt the sword coming from behind him and twisted out of the way. As he did he shoved the Rasenshuriken into the Reaper and let his jutsu carry the Reaper into the air a safe distance from him before it exploded.

"Watch out kid!" He heard the warning from Kurama and decided to use Kurama's help. Nine tails erupted from behind him and caught Rykuga's foot, just barely saving Naruto from paralyzation. Rykuga was shocked when the tails lifted him up and threw him into the treeline, Naruto hot on his trail.

* * *

To say Sakura was shocked wouldn't do justice to her reaction. One minute Tsunade was throwing a barrage of punches and the next a huge mass of muscle came flying through and obliterated Tsunade. Sakura looked around to see her master reforming. She quickly slapped a seal onto the partial body that sealed her away. Sakura didn't notice she was crying until the tears washed a path through the grim. She didn't have time to wallow in the feelings, however, as Rykuga sat up and grinned at her.

"You're the fox's vixen aren't you? Well, I'll enjoy killing you along with him!" Rykuga shot out a foot at the stunned Sakura. She knew there was no time to block so she pooled her chakra hoping to lessen the impact. Suddenly, nine orange tails shot around her and caught the foot. She could see the tails shaking from the sheer strength of Rykuga but they were holding on. She felt Naruto wrap his arms around her protectively as he pulled her back.

A clone dropped down next to her, gently holding Sasuke, and laid down their comrade next to her.

"Sakura I need you to heal Sasuke. Were going to need everyone to fight both Rykuga and the Reaper." She nodded and turned to heal his legs. She gasped at how badly they were destroyed. She began the long task of repairing the now-powder bones.

* * *

_-Back in Konoha-_

Hinata continued on with her therapy sessions. She had woken up just after Naruto had departed and has been desperately trying to join the war effort. She cursed the fact that Naruto had placed her under the watch of observant nurses. However, now she was terrified. She couldn't move an inch due to the paralyses jutsu that was placed on the room and she watched the nurses get cut down like they were a nuisance. The assassins closed in on her before they started a series of hand signs.

She watched as the lead assassin raised his blade and rested it on her neck.

"This is a message from our master." The one doing hand signs used his now glowing finger to carve a message into her stomach and back. When he finished, the leader lifted his sword and brought it down on her neck.

Hinata saw no more.

* * *

Naruto watched Rykuga stand up and growl at them. Naruto got low to the ground and allowed all nine tails to shoot out behind him to protect his wife. Naruto let out a roar and Rykuga smirked.

"You call THAT a roar. Watch and learn!" He threw his head back and roared so load that the ground shook out on the battle field. Even Kurama let out a "damn" to show that it was indeed an impressive roar. Suddenly a third roar joined and they both turned, shocked, to see another Nine-tailed Demon Fox standing in their midst. Naruto turned inward to ask Kurama about this.

"What the FUCK is going on?!" Naruto glared at Kurama, not really wanting to wait for his answer.

"It seems that the Reaper is able to use the chakra that your father sealed away in him. Remember, Minato used the Reaper Death Seal to seal away half of my chakra. It seems that our opponent is able to use that. If we beat him then I could merge my chakra and be whole again! Naruto we can't hold back!" Kurama stood and prepared for a fight. Naruto nodded and turned his attention back to the real world.

The other Reaper-Kyuubi roared again before it stated, "The real fight begins now!"

* * *

AN: Well I estimate about 2-3 more chapters in this book. Please leave a review about your favorite part and/or any suggestions. Enjoy!


	33. Legends Collide

**Review Responses:**

**McAwzome: Sorry it had to happen. You will understand in time. The message will explain.**

**meee: I still got it haha! Yeah just wait until you read this chapter. Hopefully it doesn't fall flat.**

* * *

Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and every other combatant looked on in shock at the Reaper-Kyuubi. Everyone, that is, except for Rykuga. The Berserker had a grin spreading ear to ear. He was so damn excited to fight the Kyuubi. In fact, he was so excited that he began to lick his lips in anticipation as he set forward at a slow walk. He was going to take his time getting there. The longer it took to reach it, the better it would feel tearing off each individual tail. Or at least that was his thought process.

Sakura let out the breath she didn't know she was holding when Rykuga walked away. Naruto decided to let his opponents wear each other out before he would jump in. He may have unlimited chakra but even as a stamina tank he still didn't have a never-ending amount of stamina. He had to laugh at his thoughts as he sat panting, watching as Rykuga started to pick up his pace.

Naruto could practically see the sharp teeth in Rykuga's mouth, even from this distance.

* * *

Rykuga's smile wouldn't leave his face as he began a full out sprint which left after an after image of him. He covered the last 200 feet in under a second only to be met with a tail swipe that knocked him back several yards before he regained his footing. He caught the next tail before it smashed him into the ground. He pulled the tail and began to pivot on his feet. He felt the Reaper-Kyuubi loose its' footing and he began to spin. After 2 rotations he let go and watched the fox fly into the air. He leapt up and smashed the fox in the face, sending it towards the ground quite quickly. The Reaper-Kyuubi pulled himself back to his feet and brought a paw up to swat Rykuga out of the air. He began to gather a massive amount of chakra in front of him, forming a Tailed Beast Bomb. Rykuga felt the blood trickle down from his ear and mouth. He was lucky he had twisted in air and took the blow to his side otherwise his skull would have been crushed. He knew he was in a lot more trouble because in his Berserker Mode his focus was a lot more distracted by the bloodlust so he healed much slower. Suddenly the massive ball of chakra came racing at him. Rykuga quickly tried to leap to the side only to find his leg was broken and unable to support his massive weight.

"Fuck!" Rykuga brought his arms in front of him in a futile attempt to brace himself. He was confused when the blast never came. He brought his arms down and was shocked by the sight before him. A purple, cracking Susanoo stood before him with a strangely familiar man in the middle. It felt like a damn had suddenly broke in his head. He brought his hands to his head out of pain as memories began to rush into his head. Memories that the bloodlust had suppressed. He remembered his short time as a Leaf ninja, his time hunting the Reaper, the time he spent with the man in front of him. His one and only friend, Sasuke. He remembered the pain he felt when he forced Naruto to hate him by shooting his wife the day after his wedding. He remembered the countless times he was angry when the Reaper slipped between his fingers. But know he was feeling an overwhelming need to reconcile his mistakes. Even if that meant losing his life. Suddenly Naruto and Sakura were beside Sasuke. The purple Susanoo crumbled away as Sasuke collapsed from pain and exhaustion.

"Sasuke!" Both Naruto and Sakura caught their friend and gently laid him down. Rykuga felt his leg finally finish healing and stood up.

"Naruto, Sakura I'll take it from here." Rykuga began to move forward before Naruto stood up.

"How do we know that we can trust you?" Naruto was fully prepared to fight the behemoth in front of him.

"Because if I was still under the control of my bloodlust then you three would be nothing more than a powder beneath my feet by now. Now step aside, this is my fight." Rykuga stepped over the man ahead of him to continue forward.

"No. This is OUR fight. Besides, Kurama needs his other half back and I fully intend to get it for him." Naruto grinned at Kurama as he fell in step beside the giant and they both continued forward. Rykuga glanced down at his smaller companion and grinned.

"You know, I have always wondered what it would be like to fight with you instead of against you. Who would've thought that it would be these circumstances that united us." Said the still grinning Rykuga.

"I thought you were insane?" Naruto said looking slightly confused.

"Well this Eye of Insanity can make people go insane but that was an act for the most part. Now are we gonna kill this guy or should I just sit down for a nice chat?" Naruto laughed at Rykuga's question and jerked his head at their enemy.

"Let's go."

* * *

Minato slapped the last seal needed onto Riku's chest, watching it fade from sight before his enemy even noticed. He heard two people breathe in behind him and turned around.

"Wind Style: Air Bullet!"

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

The two massive jutsu fused together and came speeding towards him. He quickly activated the seal on Mifune and teleported out of harm's way. He slammed a Rasengan into Mifune's chest before he had time to blink. Mifune went soaring through the air and slammed into the ground. When Minato seen that Mifune was either dead or incapacitated he turned his attention back to the three 10 year old kids. He was impressed they were doing so well against him. The most surprising had to be the girl, Misaku. He had an idea behind how she knew Wood style but the only person he knew that was still alive to use it was Yamato.

His thoughts were interrupted by the tree that was encasing him by growing on him. His legs were already inside the trunk and it was slowly moving up. He flashed to the girl and was about to attack her when her brother, Riku, appeared in front of him and looked him right in the eyes with his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan activated.

"Tsukuyomi!"

He found himself submerged up to his neck in a red world. He could also feel the bugs burrowing through him.

"G-genjutsu." Minato hissed in pain as a bug went through his chest.

"You will be like this for the next 2 days." Riku stated before he became quite again.

Misaku quickly took the opportunity to encase Minato in a tree as Hotaru reinforced the tree with minerals from the ground through the use of Earth style. Hotaru, Misaku, and Riku, who had just finished the jutsu, all slapped tags onto the tree.

After 1 hour of fighting, Team 7 finally defeated the Fourth Hokage.

Boy were they proud.

* * *

Rykuga felt the burst of power that he was waiting for. Thanks to the bloodlust his chakra control had been nonexistent because he couldn't focus on anything but shedding blood. Now that he was able to focus again his chakra control was back so he could now heal himself from the cellular level again. He caught one tail in each hand and held them down so Naruto could run up them. At least that was the plan until another tail slammed down on him and slapped him away into the treeline.

Naruto used all nine tails to block the paw that tried to squash him. He strained under the amount of force the Reaper-Kyuubi had put into the blow and sweat beginning to form on his forehead. He risked decided to try to use Kurama's chakra directly and was pleasantly surprised when to red chakra hands extended out to slam two Rasenshuriken into his massive enemy. He jumped back just as the dual Rasenshuriken expanded to cover the entire fox.

Sakura's hopes were dashed when 4 tails shot out of the smoke to try and smash her husband. She watched Rykuga quickly re-join the fray to land several devastating punches and kicks to the Reaper-Kyuubi's back left leg. She watched it buckle slightly as the bones were cracked and could barely hold the weight placed on them. She watched as the fox grabbed Rykuga and, to her shock and horror, proceeded to place him in his mouth and swallow him. She heard Naruto cry out and watched him get his leg almost cut off by a glancing hit from a claw. She looked to Sasuke and decided to place a genjutsu on him so he would appear invisible to keep him safe. After that she went rushing in to help her husband.

Naruto was horrified when Rykuga was eaten and that nearly cost him his leg. He knew that Rykuga had survived worse but considering he had been swallowed alive multiple times, he knew how bad it was and didn't want the same to happen to Rykuga. He winced as he tried to stand on both legs and tried to stall long enough for Kurama to heal his leg. Needless to say he was absolutely stunned when a certain pinkette smashed her fist into the Reaper-Kyuubi's face. He was even more surprised to see the massive fox get lifted off of its' feet. His wife landed next to him and he found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't wipe that stupid grin off of his face.

"Hey Sakura you know I love you right?" He tried to give her his best smile despite the situation.

"Yes Naruto, I know. Still you do something perverted I'll do the same thing to your head. Now focus on the fight!" She remained focused on the enemy ahead of her as the fox shook out its head and looked at her with a look of extreme hatred.

"I remember you. You're the pink haired bitch that was always with Naruto. It's going to be a pleasure to kill you and crush his heart. Maybe then I'll finally break him!" The fox's voice was laced with hatred as he spoke. Suddenly the air next to her was filled with a terrible chakra. She could feel the hatred coming off of it. She turned her head to see Naruto's skin finish peeling away as he began to grow in size. Nine red tails shot out from behind him and he dropped to all fours. She watched the skeleton form around him and watched as the red chakra took on the appearance of orange fur which quickly covered the bones. The last change was the size of the body. Sakura now gazed upon the true Kyuubi and it looked pissed.

"You will not hurt anymore of Naruto's friends. I will finally be able to unite myself and become whole again. I refuse to miss that chance but if I must, I will sacrifice my other half to save his pink vixen." Sakura couldn't help but blush at the term Kurama used. Kurama then turned his head to her and said two words: "Get back."

She quickly followed the order and went back to Sasuke. When she turned her attention back she was awed by the sight. Both fox's tails seemed as though they were fighting individual battles as the foxes swiped and bit at each other.

Kurama quickly clamped down on the exposed throat of his enemy and grabbed hold of the Reaper-Kyuubi's legs. He pulled his head back only to blast a massive Tailed Beast Bomb directly into the other fox's face. Kurama kept up with the onslaught as claw and teeth all made contact with his opponent. Finally when he felt the other fox was weak enough, Kurama bit onto the throat again and began to pull on every bit of his chakra. Suddenly, a hand ripped out of the Reaper-Kyuubi's stomach and mad a hole in it large enough for Rykuga to drag himself out. Kurama felt his other half weaken considerably and pulled. He made sure to pull on ALL of it so he could fully remove the other half from the Reaper while reuniting himself. He was satisfied when the Kyuubi form started to recede and was finally ripped off, and out, of the Reaper. After he fully absorbed the new chakra he gave control back to Naruto. His job was done.

* * *

Rykuga had never felt this happy to feel a breeze in his life. He was just happy that he had remained conscious long enough to tear out of the stomach. Now he dragged himself back to Sakura and collapsed. He felt his body begin to change back just as the sweet darkness of sleep overtook him.

'You're on your own Naruto.'

* * *

Naruto walked up to the Reaper. He could tell that the Reaper couldn't move anymore. His body was going into shock from the hole in his stomach and he was so physically drained that his limbs weren't working properly. The fact that he was still awake was a miracle in itself. Naruto slowly approached the immobile form and dropped to his knees out of exhaustion.

"An...Any last words? Y...your wounds...are going t-to kill you." Naruto said between pants.

"M-my master has...has already done what was needed...to be done...You're doomed wh-when he makes his move...I only wish...I could see...the light leave your eyes!" The Reaper laughed/gurgled out the last words. Before Naruto could ask anymore he seen the Reaper's eyes go blank.

"You may have been...my enemy but the man...you were before...was a good man. To him I say rest in peace." Naruto suddenly saw black dots and began to fall. He felt a pair of arms catch him. The last thing he saw was pink hair before sleep overtook him.

* * *

Kakashi threw his last explosive kunai into a group of resurrected soldiers. He prepared to use his taijutsu when they all suddenly collapsed. He watched them try to cling to the ground as all of the undead soldiers were pulled back into the fiery gates by some unseen force. When the last one was pulled in the ground began to shake as the hole was closed. Everyone looked dazed and tried to figure out what was happening. Questions could be heard spreading through the army before they were answered quite loudly.

"We have prevailed through the Power of Youth!" Kakashi didn't have to see to know Guy had just shouted out a "We won" statement. At first everyone looked even more confused until the Leaf ninja began to cheer and shout "We won!" The chant of "Victory" and several other variations spread through the army.

Kakashi looked off into Naruto's direction and quietly said "We won Naruto. You did it."

* * *

AN: The next chapter will be the last chapter of (Re)Setting the Stage. I want to thank you all for sticking with me through this book and I would like to extend this thanks to everyone who has also Favorited this book. Also I would like to tell you that Book 2 will be coming out within a week of this one ending. Please leave a review of your favorite part and/or any suggestions. Enjoy!


	34. The Beginning

**Review Responses:**

**McAwzome: You will see McAwzome, you will see.**

* * *

Naruto sat against the wall stone wall eyeing his tenant. Kurama had literally doubled in size due to the fact that his two halves were now reunited. Naruto had thought Kurama was impressive in size when he was only half a being, considering he was the same size as the other tailed beasts but now he dwarfed the other tailed beasts. Naruto was pretty much speechless at the sheer size of his furry friend. He never noticed that his own mouth hung open at the sight.

"This is all it takes to impress you? And here I thought that you were an extraordinary human." Kurama chuckled when Naruto's mouth snapped shut before a mischievous grin spread across his lips.

"Well Sakura always tells me that I'm extraordinary, unlike you Fluffy!" Naruto laughed at Kurama's reaction to Sakura's nickname for the demon fox. It irked the fox to no end when Sakura would refer to him like that.

"Even after you brought Sakura into you mind she still referred to me as Fluffy." Kurama groaned remembering how Naruto and Sakura had perfected a technique that allowed Naruto to enter his mindscape with Sakura. They had become so proficient with it that Sakura could enter Naruto's mind by herself through contact. After she enters the mind then Naruto is free to move around, contact was only needed to allow her in. The two Uzumakis usually used the technique to talk in private or just to spend time together when they were having a busy day, considering that 1 second in reality was over a day in his mind.

"Oh yeah! THAT was funny. I still remember her looking at you and declaring that your name was Fluffy from then on. I've never seen a Tailed Beast embarrassed until that day!" Naruto was practically crying from laughter at the memory of the event. Kurama rolled his eyes before plopping down and speaking.

"As much as I enjoy our chats, your wife and pretty much everyone else is worried so get out of your mind. Even I fear your wife's wrath so you should hurry."

* * *

Naruto groaned at the feeling of being expelled from his own mind. He silently cursed the Kyuubi before he felt a pair of arms stretch around him. He glanced down into the tangle of pink hair before he hugged her back. He looked around to take in his surroundings and noticed that they were in one of the many medical carts. He looked at the foot of his bed to see his son lying in another bed. His concern skyrocketed when he saw the other members of Team 7 in beds and heard his wife sniffle.

"Hey Sakura what's wrong?" He cupped her chin and tilted her head up. He immediately lost himself in the emerald eyes of his wife. He noticed how exhausted she looked and could tell that she had most likely lost some patients under her watch. Naruto knew how torn up she got when she couldn't save someone. He just pulled her closer to him and she broke down completely.

"So...so many died...I've lost 10 under...under my watch...I...I failed 10 families. T-" Naruto cut her off by placing a finger to her lips. He knew how she felt. He had been the same way when Sasuke had "died". He just pulled her close and spoke.

"Sakura don't. You haven't failed anyone. I felt the same darkness creep over me when we thought Sasuke died but do you know who saved me?" His blue oceans met her tear filled green eyes. "You did Sakura. You pulled me from that all consuming darkness. Now I intend to repay the favor." He just pulled her close again after his statement and waited until her breath evened out before he let sleep claim him.

* * *

Akio was having a good day. She had been working in the hospital ever since her former patient, Riku Uchiha, had awoken from his coma. Now she had been charged with watching Hinata Hyuuga. The request had come from her friend, and the Hokage's wife, Sakura Uzumaki. They had remained good friends after Riku woke up. She had found out that she was actually the only civilian and that group of friends. She had also become a friend to the Hokage and had befriended Ino too.

Today she had just returned from a relaxing 3 day vacation so of course she was having a good day. She reached Hinata's door and knocked gently before speaking.

"Hinata I'm coming in ok?" She waited fof a response but didn't hear anything. She opened the door and gasped at the sight. She ran into the room to check on the doctor there before she seen him walking through the hospital. Today. Akio shot up and turned around to see said "doctor" finish a hand sign. She immediately felt tired and realized that she was falling asleep standing. As she fell her eyes began to water thinking about the fact that she failed her friend.

The assassin glanced down and, satisfied with his work, slapped a genjutsu seal onto the inside of the room before he left. The client had specifically wanted Naruto Uzumaki to discover the body and paid a small fortune for that extra task. He was going to make damn sure that it was completed perfectly.

* * *

_-2 days later__-_

Naruto was ecstatic when Konoha's gates came into view of the convoy. When they got close enough they could see people rushing out to greet their loved ones and to give them a hero's welcome. Naruto felt a pang of sorrowwhen several people began to call out names that Naruto recognized as names of the fallen. He felt Sakura wrap her hand in his for comfort. He squeezed her hand and gently pulled her closer to him.

"Remember Sakura, war kills people. It's a fact o-" his statement was cut off when a searing pain ripped through his injured leg causing him to collapse in absolute agony.

"Naruto!" Sakura dropped to her knees next to him as she examined his leg, running glowing green hands over the area he was clutching on to. As she examined the injury she thought was healed her look began to get more and more panicked.

"I need a medical squad and a poison removal squad on standby at the hospital ASAP!" If the situation hadn't been so bad then e everyone present would have been laughing when Sakura picked up their Hokage bridal style and jumped away.

Sakura had seen this same poison in 2 of her dead patients and she would be damned before her husband joined that list.

* * *

By the time they had reached the hospital, Sakura was fuming at her "poisoned" husband. He had jumped out of her arms and leapt across the rooftops with her. When she asked for an explanation Naruto had told her that the poison was actually unstable Kyuubi chakra that had been injected directly though injuries. Kurama had finally stabilized the chakra which explained how he was fine again.

Sakura told the squads what happened and they went to treat the wounded soldiers.

"So Naruto do you want to come with me to check on Hinata? I'm shre Akio is there right now and you haven't talked to her in forever. Come on please!" She began to tug on his hand like an excited school girl causing Naruto to laugh and allowed his wife to lead him through the hospital unti they came to Hinata's room. Naruto threw open the door and stopped.

"No... no no no no NO!" Naruto started forward but stopped when it registered that she was headless. He turned away and seen the genjutsu tag. He peeled it off and destroyed it. Sakura embraced Naruto as he started to cry. They moved outside of the room and Naruto just collapsed against the wall. A team of nurses came running down the hall to respond to Sakura's call. She just silently pointed towards the room and continued to hold onto Naruto.

Eventually he had no more tears to shed. By this time all of their friends had arrived. They had finished securing Rykuga and had come to check on Naruto and found him like this. Now he silently stood up and entered the room to read the message that the nurses had told him about.

_To Naruto,_

_If you are reading this ten you have defeated my student, the Reaper. I congratulate you on your victory but now I present you with another challenge, another opponent: Me. Now you don't know me but I know you. You are the challenge I have yet to overcome so I intend to rectify that. I give you 2 years to make everyone stronger. Use those 2 years wisely because as of now none of you stand a chance. I finish this letter with your first challenge: the men who assassinated your friend are still there. Good luck._

_Your Challenge._

"Everyone be on high alert! We have enemies in the Leaf!"

* * *

"Rasengan!"

The last assassin turned and the Rasengan hit him in the face. Naruto wiped away the blood spatter and turned to leave. They had captured one assassin and thats all Naruto needed. He put a kill on sight order on the rest. Now they were interrogating the capturex man so Naruto left it in Ino's capable hands.

He was going to find out who did this even if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

A man with one black eye and one white sat thinking to himself.

'Well Naruto Uzumaki how will you respond to this' He laughed to himself before he spoke.

"Naruto our time is coming and I will be the victor. You will die within the next 3 years. That I promise."

* * *

End of Book 1

* * *

AN: Well there it is, the final chapter. Thank you, so much, to everyone that has stuck with me through this story! I will be putting the next book out soon. If you wish to read it I will be putting it out within the next 4 days. Thank you again to everyone. Enjoy!

UPDATE: The next book is out and is titled The Play Begins.


End file.
